Monster Love
by Clara Kingsley
Summary: Moon Butterfly was more like her daughter then she'd ever dare to admit. She was once an out-of-control, rebel princess. A ball of lightning in a hot pink dress. Then, when a monster named Toffee was assigned to reign her into queendom and responsibility, she got a little more then she bargained for then just someone to be her guide.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Rebel Princess and the Charming Monster

A long time ago, in a magical land called Mewni, lived a princess…

" _Moon! Please come down before you hurt yourself."_

Deep within the castle, there was a stout, young boy with nervously his gaze fixed up at the high palace ceiling. His name was River Johansen and he was busy arguing with the crowned princess of the kingdom of Mewni, Moon Butterfly. She was sitting at least ten feet above him, swinging merrily from one of the castle's crystal chandeliers, like it was nothing more than an intricate metal swing. Her long pale blue hair swished behind her as she swung back-and-forth, ignoring the ominous creaks that foretold imminent breaking. Moon Butterfly was a spoiled little princess and she treated almost all the priceless family heirlooms in the Butterfly castle like they were her toys. This life-threatening stunt was only one of many from over the past few months. She was currently fourteen-years-old and starting in a new rebellious phase of her life. Everyone around her prayed that she'd go through this phase as quickly as she did her 'glitter on everything' phase. However, there appeared to be no end in sight…

"Relax, River. I do this all the time." Moon replied, breezily. Her diamond cheeks dimpled with a large chaotic grin. "It's sooooooooooo fun!"

" _Moon Amalthea Butterfly! Get down from there at once!"_

A high, cruel voice that was clearly not River had snapped at her angrily from below. Moon hung upside down off the chandelier to see her mother, Queen Willow Butterfly, glaring up at her in fury. "You're supposed to be having your magic lesson with Glossaryck. What do you think you're doing, young lady?"

"I thought I'd invite River over instead. I mean, I can literally have that lesson any time. It's not like he's going anywhere." Moon scoffed, in rebuttal. Sir Glossaryck of Terms was her magic teacher. As per tradition, Moon had received the two most valuable heirlooms of the Butterfly family on her fourteenth birthday. A magic wand and a spellbook written by all the former queens of Mewni. They were the only two heirlooms she didn't completely abuse. Glossaryck had come with the book and was tasked to teach her how to use her magic properly.

Moon didn't really have a problem with him, despite her refusal to go to her lessons. It's just his teaching was far too slow for her taste. They were still stuck in the dull basics of levitating things and transportation. She just wanted to get to the cool stuff she might actually use in the future, like attack magic she could use against the monsters that threatened their kingdom.

"Moon! I mean it! Get down here _now_!" her mother snapped again. The spades on her cheeks were nearly red with rage, rather than their normal purple. Moon sighed.

"Ugh, fine."

She removed her blue crystal heart rod from her pocket and waved it, lazily. A set of stairs appeared where she had pointed and Moon reluctantly removed herself from the chandelier. When she reached the bottom, the stairs simply disappeared in a puff of smoke. "See, I got down using my magic. I don't need any more lessons. I've totally got this."

"Just go…" her mother sighed, sounding rather tired and fed up. She pointed Moon into the direction of two armored guards ready to escort her to the library where Glossaryck was probably waiting.

"Bye River. I'll see you later, maybe. In like four years, when I finally become queen and they can't keep me under castle arrest anymore!" Moon replied, sarcastically. She stormed off with royal guards following close behind her, before River could even say his goodbye. He sighed and was escorted by another guard towards the main entrance.

King Juniper arrived just in time to see his daughter in an angry huff and one of her only friends leaving in sorrow. He chose to follow up with his wife for the full story. She shuffled for her throne with a rather discouraged expression and he took his seat beside her.

"What happened, dear? Another fight?" he asked, cautiously.

"I think we need to try something a little more drastic with her, Juniper. She doesn't seem to be falling into her responsibilities and god knows we can't expect Glossaryck to keep her in line." the queen sighed, rubbing her temple as she slumped into the chair. Running an entire kingdom was not as frustrating, or as tiring, as having to deal with her daughter for just five minutes.

"Perhaps, it's time we consider bringing _him_ in." the king reckoned.

"Him?" she questioned, clearly confused by his vagueness. Then, suddenly, Queen Willow jumped up at the sudden realization of what her husband was saying and who he was talking about. He couldn't be serious. "But, he's a monster, honey. Just imagine how that will look to the public. The future Queen of Mewni being guided around by a monster."

"He's been the liaison between Mewman and Monster relations for a while now and, in that time, he's proven to be a highly responsible and trustworthy advisor." King Juniper stated, strongly. "He'd be a good influence on Moon."

"I don't like it and I guarantee Moon won't like it either. She hates the monster race as much as anyone." Queen Willow huffed, bitterly.

"It's worth a shot at least. Let's test it out for a few weeks and see if they make a good fit." he reasoned. The king got up from his throne and strolled over to a mirror on the far wall. "Call Toffee."

 _Calling Toffee…_

Moon Butterfly sat in the library at one of the tables, reading a book on queenship, only because there was no other kind of book in the library. Books that inspired adventure and free-spirts were not permitted, naturally. Not even fairytales with bland, one-dimensional princesses were allowed. The kind of stories where princes went on all the adventures and fought the monsters were incredibly awful, but Moon would've still read them if they were there. However, they needed to assure all future princesses of Mewni that no one was coming to save them. It was a mixed message of strong independence and hopeless fate. Moon didn't even like those sappy, unrealistic types of stories. But, she secretly made them up in her mind all the time. A prince, or literally anyone, whisking her away and being freed from her chains of queendom. She could ride wild warnicorns and eat corn right off the cob. Moon didn't want to be so dependent on someone else, but she did not have the power to free herself from this horrible life. Someone needed to help her get away and, whoever that person might be, seriously needed to hurry up.

The door creaked open, but Moon didn't bother to look up from the book. She had ringed the bell for a servant to come about 20 minutes ago and it appears one had finally shown up to take her order.

"Ugh, finally. Can you get me a mint tea? I missed tea time because of stupid Glossaryck's lesson." she snarked, quite candidly.

"I'm not the staff, princess. Sorry to disappoint…"

Moon quickly turned to look up at who had entered the room, from the unexpected reply. She was immediately bewildered at the sight, for it was even more unexpected then the answer had been. A tall, reptilian man with sickly grey skin was staring at her with golden amber eyes. Moon immediately identified him as a monster. However, he was dressed up in fancy formal attire and didn't look a thing like any monster she'd ever seen before. The creature had an odd aura about him that didn't exactly scream danger, but it still caused Moon to fixate on his long snout and sharp teeth.

"How did you get in here, you filthy monster?! Stay away from me!" she gasped, in panic. Not even allowing him the chance to explain himself, Moon pointed her wand and sent a bright pink light of pure magic at him. The beam hit him in right on the arm and his arm disintegrated at the touch. He fell back defeated and Moon smiled victoriously. She hadn't been taught formal attack magic yet and Glossaryck would be impressed to learn she took down a monster with only one hit.

" _Now, now, princess. That's no way to treat your guests."_

The monster hoisted himself up using the table for support and, with a frustrated grunt, his flesh began to reform. In seconds, the arm Moon had just blasted off was back. She stepped back, slightly in shock, and slightly in amazement. How did he do that? Her attack appeared to not have affected him at all. He almost even looked bored by her display of contempt. He slid his long black hair back into place and simply continued, like Moon hadn't just blown one of his arms clean off, "I'm Toffee. I'm in charge of Mewman and Monster relations. Of course, you would know that, if you bothered to attend any council meetings."

"I don't like your tone, lizard boy."

"Please, put the wand down. I don't feel like having to regrow another arm today."

"Fine." she grudgingly agreed, stowing her wand back in her pocket. Moon returned to her book and her seat, done with giving this 'Toffee' character any sort of real attention. Yet, she continued to curiously judge him, out of the corner of her eye. His presence was hard to ignore. "What're you even doing here? I don't go to boring council meetings, but I know they aren't on Sundays."

"I was invited by the king and assigned to be your new guide—"

"Excuse me, _what?!_ " Moon interrupted, slamming the book back down on the table. He couldn't be serious. Her parents were harsh, but even they wouldn't assign her a monster babysitter. What the heck were they thinking? She was about to get up and give them a piece of her mind, but the monster had the audacity to dare to stop her.

"Your parents think you're not fit to be queen of Mewni and I have to agree," Toffee added, bluntly. "Your manners are atrocious, you run amuck with your magic, doing whatever you please, and don't even get me started on your throne posture—"

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I'm not trying to be a queen right now! I'm just trying to have a life of my own and be happy. Ya' got that?" Moon yelled, losing any form of composure. She stood on her chair to try and tower above Toffee. She was near blasting another spell at him, only further proving how reckless and hasty she was. What gave him the right to judge her after only five minutes talking with her?

"You can't have a life like that, princess. You have a job to do and the people of your kingdom are depending on you to do it well. It's time to grow up and embrace your future." he argued back at her. Toffee sighed a tired sigh, Moon recognized all too well from arguing with her mother. Except, when her mother sighed, it only further angered her. When he sighed, Moon actually felt the weight of her actions and, just maybe, felt guilty about being so difficult. She sat back down to listen and he put a claw on her puffy-sleeved shoulder. "Someday you will be a beautiful, intelligent queen and it is my new job to make sure you are ready for all the trials and tribulations that will come with the job."

"Why do you want to help me? What's in it for you?"

"A higher position in the world and the power to further amend the relationship between Mewmans and Monsterkind. Without me, war would break out, you know." Toffee explained. "I am the only one who can hold back our two races from destroying each other. Just like you, I had to grow up and turn into someone more responsible. I assure you, princess. I know how you're feeling."

Moon considered him for a moment. Perhaps, he understood her better than she thought he did. Unlike her mother's droning speeches of how she should be more responsible and think about the future of Mewni, Toffee's speech didn't irritate her. She might've even admired how hard he worked to achieve peace in the kingdom, even though it had meant sacrificing things like his own happiness. It may have not been the type of brave she coveted, but it was still an immensely brave act.

"Fine. I'll work with you, but I won't be easy." Moon declared, standing back on her chair to face him. She stared straight into his amber eyes, headstrong and unafraid. If she was going to be stuck with a monster for a teacher, she had to make one thing perfectly clear. "I'm going to give you hell, okay?"

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to it, princess..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

More than a Bargain

Moon kept good on her promise to Toffee and worked every day on making his job a living hell. She quickly sensed that he was the kind of person with a thin tolerance for nonsense. Despite his appearance, he was just another stuffy councilman, like the rest. Moon figured that, if she acted out long enough, Toffee would get fed up with her behavior and quit. However, despite all her best efforts, she was unable to get a rise out of Toffee. He didn't get angry when she arrived late, or mouthed off to him in lessons. His comebacks were always witty and intelligent. Moon blasted him with spells anytime his back was turned, but his sixth sense always seemingly warned him before she'd even utter one. She purposely put bugs in in his afternoon tea, which he always drank without complaint. Nothing that Moon ever did exposed even the tiniest bit of emotion in him and it was the most infuriating thing. Did it really take this much effort to get a monster to snap? How long would she need to keep this up before she was finally rid of him?

" _Princess, we don't have time for this today…"_

Toffee was walking through the royal gardens, unperturbed and surprisingly relaxed for someone who could not find the only daughter of the royal family. Moon's new favorite thing had become hiding from him. He always ended up finding her, but it was a creative waste of his time. The sights of the gardens were beautiful, but he paid them little attention other than a perimeter scanning glance. He took a sudden turn off the path towards a seemingly ordinary tree and found the little pink thing he had seen hanging out of the corner of his eye was indeed the hem of the princess's dress. "I found you."

"Spssh, I went easy on you today. _Trust fall!_ " Moon scoffed, unimpressed. She suddenly swung herself completely off the branch she was sitting on. Toffee's expression changed for a fraction of a second, as he ran to catch her. He held out his arms just in time and she fell right into them. "Good catch. You're actually pretty fast."

"Must you insist on giving everyone around you heart attacks."

"So, you were worried about me?"

"No, I wasn't." he replied, coldly, setting her down onto the grass. "Now, let's get on with your lesson."

They walked back through castle corridors in silence. Toffee was straight-faced, as always, seemingly thinking on nothing but the destination. However, Moon was clearly pondering something deeply.

"What do you worry about, Toffee? Isn't there anything that scares you?" Moon asked, suddenly. He looked at her a little puzzled, but then returned his gaze forward.

"That is none of your concern, your highness." Toffee replied, dutifully. "You need only care about the worries of your subjects—"

"I don't care about them. I'm asking about you." she pressed even further. There had to just be something inside his shell. He couldn't just be Mr. Manners and Responsibility, all the time. He was a monster, for christ's sake. He must've seen war, felt bloodlust and the adrenaline of battle. Frankly, Moon would've found him far more interesting, if he just let her in and displayed he had any form of personality. On that first day she met him, there was a moment where she thought he might not be that bad. He might've actually been someone who believed in her. However, he'd done nothing since to assure her that he was on her side. So, she prodded and poked at his tender spots until finally—

"Tell me! I want to know—"

"Yes, but you do not _need_ to know. That is the difference!" he suddenly snapped. It was the first time she'd actually succeeded in making him angry and Moon stopped following him immediately as his loud voice reverberated the empty hall. It was what she had wanted. She wished to strike any sort of emotion in Toffee. However, suddenly, Moon didn't know why she kept pushing him towards this. His eyes were enraged, his nostrils flared, and sharp teeth snarled, probably wanting nothing more than to bite her. It was the first time she really saw the monster in him. It was horrifying.

The Mewman in her was about to raise her wand in defense for her life against a monster poised to attack. However, Moon knew that all it would take to defuse Toffee was a simple apology. All she had to do was say she was sorry.

"Forgive me for asking." she replied, quietly. She added a quick curtsey in there for good measure and slightly gazed up at him with anticipation, waiting for Toffee's reply.

"It's okay." he mumbled, quickly regaining his composure. He almost looked a little embarrassed to have succumb to such an outburst. They continued to make their way to the library in an obviously more rushed hast, led by Toffee. He was completely back to that emotionless shell by the time they arrived and he got out the books they would use for their lessons.

"Now, since we've been working on your language skills lately, I thought we could have a conversation in ancient Mewman and hold it for at least five minutes." Toffee explained. Moon sighed and nodded diligently.

" _Hello, princess. How are you feeling today?_ "

" _I will gut you and use your gallbladder for a hat!_ "

"That's definitely not an answer to my question." Toffee added, returning to English. "Also, who taught you how to say that, because I certainly didn't?"

"One of the guards! They know the coolest stuff." Moon beamed, clearly proud of herself.

"As lovely as death threats are, it's really not the best way to greet foreign diplomats. That's how you start wars." he insisted. Moon shrugged him off nonchalantly, even though he was right. "You don't want to be like Queen Solaria, do you?"

"Yeah, I do! She was such an awesome queen." she replied, proudly. Toffee had been forcing her to read up on all the past queens of Mewni and Queen Solaria was one who had stood out amongst all of them. Unlike the other queens, she fought monsters and the forces of evil (also shaved her head and rocked it). She was fearless and didn't need magic to defend herself. Strong, resilient, rebellious. It was the type of queen Moon wanted to be and was proof that she could do whatever she wanted with her title. She admired her out of all her grandmas. Toffee, however, didn't look as impressed as Moon was. He looked taken aback by her upbeat answer.

"Well, she's killed millions of my kind, so forgive me if I don't think a woman literally nicknamed the 'monster carver' is the most admirable of people."

"Ah, no! Toffee, I didn't mean it like that. I swear." Moon protested, quickly, trying to fix her mistake. However, it was too late. Toffee got up.

"Perhaps, we should give up for today and reconvene tomorrow. Forgive me, princess, but I've suddenly grown tired..." Toffee sighed, suddenly rising again. He left the library towards an unknown destination. Moon had never bothered to ask whether he was being housed in the castle, or not, since becoming her mentor. She begun to chase after him immedietly. But, by the time she had rushed to the door, Toffee was already gone.

"Toffee…"

He didn't come back the next day, even though Moon was on time for their lesson. She sat eagerly waiting, ready to give one hell of an apology to him. Although, she had not intended to offend Toffee, he had been right about Solaria. She wasn't the best role model and he only wished for her not to go down the same path. So, she waited. Twiddling her thumbs and adjusting the hem of her dress every other second, until the door to the library finally opened.

"Toffee!" she exclaimed, prematurely. However, Moon didn't know Toffee well enough to know he was never late for anything. If he appeared so, he probably wasn't going to show up at all. The realization only hit when one of the butlers entered in his place.

"Your majesty, Sir Toffee is reported sick and will not be providing you lessons today. Please return to your quarters for now." he announced. Moon's heart sank a little at a prospect that should've brought her joy. No more boring lessons, right? She was finally free from Toffee, which is what she had planned all along.

So, why wasn't she happy?

Moon quietly excused herself and left, in a bit of a daze. Her mindless wandering didn't end up taking her to her room, though. It took her to a rather bizarre place she'd naturally never been to before. When Moon came back to reality, she found that she had made it all the way through town and to the very edge of the Forest of Certain Death. Moon stared into the darkness, wondering what had drawn her there. Despite her rebellious nature, she'd still never dared to go into the forest. Her magic was not strong enough yet for her to possibly be able to survive. However, regardless of every cell in her body screaming for her to stop, she took a bold step forward into the forest. It was not like anyone would care. It was not like he would care. He didn't care about anything or anyone. Let alone her.

"Moon! What're you doing?"

She felt a familiar hand grab her wrist and stop her from continuing further. Moon dazedly looked back to find River, looking troubled and out of breath. He had run to stop her.

"Oh hi, River…" Moon muttered. Even though some string of fate had brought her someone who did indeed care about her safety and wellbeing, she selfishly ignored it. "My business is none of your concern. Leave me be."

"Don't go in there, Moon! Whatever business you could possibly have in there can't be good."

"Goodbye River."

" _Moon!"_

Meanwhile, Toffee was headed for Moon's room to fetch her for whatever time they could manage at this point. He had calmed himself from yesterday's fight and was ready to get back to teaching her. Toffee had come to realize that she didn't know any better and it really was an accident. He didn't have a right to be angry with her. It was his new job to teach her about these sorts of things.

He arrived at her door and gave it a soft knock, "Princess, it's me. Can I come in?"

She didn't answer.

"I apologize for running off yesterday. I could've handled your comments better and accepted your apology."

Still nothing.

"This is hard for me too, you know. I would appreciate an answer. Please."

Dead silence.

" _Moon!_ Open the door!" Toffee shouted, losing all composure. He kicked it viciously in his temper. A passing maid stared at him oddly, having caught part of his angry exchange with the princess's door.

"I don't think she's in there, Sir Toffee." she replied, cautiously, to his snarled teeth and slitted amber eyes. "She was supposed to stay in her room, until her lesson with Sir Glossaryck, but she ran off somewhere."

"Any idea where she went?"

"I saw her leaving out the servant's entrance about an hour ago."

"And, you didn't think to tell anyone?"

"I'm sorry, but my job is scrubbing the floors and dusting the portraits. Someone else shouldn't have been faking sick and kept an eye out for her."

Toffee sighed, having no more energy to argue with a surprisingly sassy palace maid. However, he did have the energy to run into town after Moon. The town was lively with its usual street vendors and performers, but no part seemed to exhibit any signs that royalty had been there that day. No whispers of the princess's surprise appearance, or crowds just now dispersing, having crowded around her in amazement. Toffee was looking for anything that might give him a clue, when he saw the Johansen's boy, pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself. Although, a lesser royal, it was to Toffee's understanding that this boy was one of Moon's friends.

"Boy, have you seen the princess wandering about these parts?" Toffee inquired, probably sounding a little more malicious then he ought to have. The boy jumped nervously at the harshness of tone.

"I begged her not to, sir! She wouldn't listen to me, honestly." River explained, rather fast.

"Where has she gone?" Toffee asked, trying to sound calmer and not scare him half to death.

"She went into the forest."

"That girl…"

Toffee ran into the forest without any hesitation. He'd never entered the forest named after death, but was certain he could hold his own in there. Even if he couldn't, Moon's safety was a priority to him. She was the most important thing in his life and it was imperative she stayed safe.

"Princess! Please come out from wherever you're hiding." Toffee called out for her throughout the thick vines and gnarled trees, still trying to sound calm and unthreatening. "This is reckless, you know. Come out before you get hurt."

" _That's all he thinks of me. A reckless bother..."_ Moon thought, when she heard Toffee's call. She might've been thrilled he'd come after her. For a split second, she thought of revealing herself with a smirk and play it off like another round of hide-and-seek. However, Moon knew nothing would change. Just because he'd come after her, didn't mean he forgave her. He stopped calling for her after a while, which stung cold. He'd given up. She had briefly thought she found someone who would not give up on her, which is probably why she felt so wretched when Toffee did. He didn't seem like the type that gave up.

Moon got up, but was far too heartbroken to simply look where she was going. She had stepped right into the obvious jaws of a man-eating plant and it snapped shut on her immediately. " _Ah!_ "

She could've screamed louder, she could've fought back, and she did briefly. Moon kicked and blasted it with her wand, but when none of that worked she stopped moving. It closed either trying to swallow her whole, or suffocate her, and Moon let it. There were surely other girls in the Butterfly family who could take her place and do a better job. Toffee had tried to work on her, but she was honestly a lost cause, not worthy of being queen. It'd be better this way.

However, as Moon closed her eyes and sat helplessly waiting for death, she didn't notice something was trying to pry open the rooted jaws of the plant. Only when she noticed more light trickling and a grunting struggle coming from outside, did she dare to open her eyes. Through the growing crack she saw Toffee, his amber eyes determined.

" _Moon!_ " The plant opened for a moment and he was able to hold out a claw to her. Moon grabbed it and was yanked out to safe ground. Toffee then preceded to rip the plant apart, mostly out of spite and rage. She was covered in spit, but for the most part unharmed. When he was through with the plant, he went to check Moon for any major injuries. But, before he was able to, she embraced him in a tearful relief. Toffee allowed her to shiver and clutch onto him for a good second, before he decided she was fine and let her have it. "What were you thinking? Glossaryck has hardly taught you any attack magic yet. You could've been killed!"

"I don't know…" she mumbled, weakly. Moon didn't have an excuse to give him for being so reckless. It wasn't intentional, surely. Although, she could've done a better job fighting off that thing. She'd admit that to herself, but not Toffee. During the fight, her heart had suddenly asked herself 'what's the point?'and she wasn't able to think of one. It was horribly frighting, but in that moment, she'd given up on herself. "I'm a lost cause of a princess and I didn't want to bother you anymore. I thought you quit after what I said yesterday. I didn't think you'd come looking for me."

"So, what was the plan? To kill yourself in here?" he snapped back, harshly. She started to tear up a little more and realized he needed to tone it back once again. "You're not a lost cause, Moon, and your fear of being queen certainly isn't worth dying for. Just because I am teaching you manners and responsibility doesn't mean you need to follow every single rule. Every queen has been different and you are still allowed to be the queen you want to be."

"I still don't understand why you're bothering to teach me, though. If I can be an irresponsible queen, why do you work so hard on changing me?"

"Because I believe in you, obviously. I believe you can be better and won't make the same mistakes as your predecessors. You have the opportunity to make Mewni a good place for all." Toffee explained. "My kind depends on the heart of a good queen. Will that be you?"

"I don't know…"

"Well, do you hate me?"

"No. I don't." Moon found herself saying. She didn't know when exactly, but her feelings towards Toffee had changed. She no longer felt like she hated him.

"A good start. A week ago, you were calling me a 'filthy monster'. I'd say we're making progress already." he smiled. Moon attempted to smile back at him, but she was stuck on the word 'progress'. Was that all she was?

"So, you're just trying to help me so I won't wipe out your race when I rise to power." she asked, boldly.

"A bit of a crude summary, but that is the general idea." Toffee admitted.

"You don't like me though…"

"Don't take it too personally. I don't 'like' anyone or anything. You're in the vast majority."

"There must be something you like! Books? Your family? A special monster someone?" Moon added, sounding shocked. Surely, he must've cared for something. It might've been foolish to think he would care for her after only a week, but he can't have cared for absolutely nothing.

"There is nothing. Monsters don't make those kinds of attachments." Toffee replied.

"Then, I'll find something!" Moon shouted, suddenly, with a burst of determination. Even a hopeless girl like her had things in her sad life to love and she couldn't imagine this life Toffee was claiming to have. How could he be such a content creature? He may not want her help, but he definitely needed it. "As payment for saving my life, I promise to find something in this world that brings you joy and makes you happy."

It took him a moment to process her statement, but once he had Toffee grew a small smile, "Alright, princess. If you really want to try, then it's a deal." he answered. They shook hands on it, officially sealing the deal. "Now, let's get out of here."

"Only if you address me as 'Moon'. No more 'princess' or 'your highness'. I'm sick of it." she snapped, suddenly, planning on not taking another step forward till it was done. He looked bewildered by her request. "You were calling me Moon earlier. What's the problem?"

"Earlier—I—you were—fine…" he muttered, attempting to come up with a reason. Toffee might've even started blushing just a little. "Only when we're alone, though. The king and queen will not be happy with me treating their daughter so informally."

"Ah, they could use a heart attack or two." Moon laughed. Toffee grinned too. It was the first time in a while he had a reason to smile so earnestly. Perhaps, this wouldn't be such a job after all. He would not admit it, but the girl he was using was growing on him. Just a little.

The princess had entered the Forest of Certain Death, looking dreary, and fighting off emotional monsters. However, when she exited, not only was she grinning from ear-to-ear, but she was escorted by a literal monster. Maybe even a new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Movie Night in Mewni

After saving her in the Forest of Certain Death, Moon took to Toffee a lot better and dialed back her attitude. There was no more hide-and-seek, obviously. She also had started listening in their daily lessons and doing almost everything he asked of her without complaint. It was the least she could do to repay him for saving her life. Although, Moon's sheer determination alone wasn't enough to change the fact she loathed every minute she was being forced towards queenship. So, Toffee decided to offer her an incentive for her hard work and she had come to enjoy at least five minutes a day. He had agreed to five minutes, after her lessons, where Moon was allowed to ask him something personal. She could ask him anything she thought of, however, there was no guarantee he would give her an answer. Moon just got to fire off random questions, until he chose to answer one. Which she was fine with, for the moment. Eventually, she hoped he would tell her all the questions he refused to answer. Moon could tell he had a lot of secrets.

Over the past few weeks, Moon had learned the following things about Toffee:

-He doesn't like ice cream. He's cold-blooded and says it's on par with eating a pile of daggers.

-He's from somewhere called Septarsis (wherever that is). It's apparently in the same dimension as Mewni, but far away, past the wetlands of Avarius.

-His mother kept trying to eat him when he was a baby.

-His only living relative is his cousin, Rasticore. They don't talk…

It wasn't such a great accomplishment, considering she'd only uncovered four little tidbits about Toffee in the month she'd known him. But, Moon knew it was more than her parents and probably anyone else knew about him. It made her feel somewhat special that he'd bestowed such a privilege on her.

" _Princess?"_

Moon could hear Toffee knocking on the door to her room, but she wouldn't let him in. For some reason, he was still struggling to call her by her name. Moon tended not to answer if he didn't, as if training him. Toffee had come to fetch her for lessons. Even though she was more likely not to run off nowadays, he didn't want to take a chance on wasting anymore time.

"No princesses in here. Sorry!" she replied, with a sing-song sort of cheeriness in her voice and a playful giggle. Moon was in a good humor today. Glossaryck was finally going to teach her how to defend herself with magic and read Solaria's spellbook chapter. She was sick of learning parlor tricks from past queens of Mewni. Her own mother had barely contributed anything to the book that wasn't something to do with etiquette and proper queenship. Moon was also ecstatic because she'd thought of the perfect question to ask Toffee after their lesson.

"Moon, the king and queen wish to see you before we start." Toffee added. Moon groaned, her mood instantly dampened, and reluctantly opened the door to meet him.

"What do _they_ want?" Moon inquired, slightly curious, but also rather skeptic.

"No idea." Toffee replied, simply. "Come along now. We best not be late…"

Moon sighed and diligently followed him towards the throne room, where her parents sat waiting. Toffee bowed low to them, while Moon walked a little closer before curtseying. Apparently, according to Toffee, it was not polite to keep stomping up to them and say, 'What do you want?' anymore. Even if they were her parents, she still had to treat them like the king and queen.

"You wished to see me?"

"Yes, my dear." King Juniper smiled, kindly. "We've asked you here because we've seen a real change in your attitude lately and have decided that it's finally time for you to hold your first royal ball."

"Oh." Moon replied, not knowing what else to say. Out of all the things she was expecting, a ball was obviously not one of them. When she was younger, they always seemed like such an exclusive, grownup thing.

"You're going to love it, Moon! We're going to invite royalty from every dimension, including your future magic council."

"My magic council? What about the current council? Aren't they immortal?" Moon questioned, curiously. She didn't know too much about her mother's council of magic, but she'd always assumed she would just inherit them too, like she did with the wand. From what she did know, they were a collection of the most powerful magic users in all the dimensions. Death didn't seem to fit them.

"Sweetie, nothing is immortal. Anything can be killed if you hit it with strong enough magic." Queen Willow explained, with a sickly tone that was far too sweet for what she was saying. "Besides, you don't want a bunch of stuffy adults at the ball, getting in your way."

"What might they be getting in the way of, mother?" Moon asked.

"Oh, Moon. You shouldn't ask such bold questions!" her mother laughed, like what she had said was somewhat of a joke. "If you must know, it's practically the only way to meet people. I met your father at a ball—"

Moon did not need to listen to her mother any further. By 'people', it was plainly obvious that she meant boys. This whole event was masqueraded so she might find a contender for the future king of Mewni. The only two boys Moon knew were River and Prince Ponyhead, who weren't exactly at the top of her list of crushable guys. This was the next step on the ladder to being queen she did not want to climb, but she would be forced to climb anyway.

"I see. Very good then." Moon stated, in a monotoned voice. She hastily curtsied to them, to signify her intent on departing, and turned to leave. Toffee had taught her it was the eloquent equivalent to 'Fuck this shit. I'm out.'

Her swift pace quickened as she moved through the halls, with Toffee following close behind her.

"What's troubling you, princess?" he questioned, suddenly, noticing her glum expression and eagerness to get to a lesson she did not want to go too. She stopped and glared at him, daring him to find his error. Toffee quickly figured out what he had said wrong and had no choice but to fix it. "What's wrong, Moon? You don't seem pleased by the news."

"Yeah, the whole thing is just a ploy for them to arrange my marriage. I won't have it!" Moon replied, with a haughty huff. She crossed her arms angrily, happy Toffee fixed his mistake, but still upset at the news.

"That may be true. But, royal functions are also a great place for networking and showing off. By planning this, your parents believe you are finally ready."

"After only a few weeks with you? What do they know? I still have so much to learn."

"You don't need to know too much for a ball. People your age won't really want to talk about things like politics—"

"I don't know how to dance! I shall make a fool of myself!" Moon shouted over him. Toffee looked bewildered by her confession for a brief moment, but quickly returned to question her.

"Weren't you supposed to have an instructor last year?" he inquired.

"I broke his foot and he swore he'd never teach another princess again." she explained, with a guilty smile.

"Moon…" Toffee sighed. He rubbed his temple out of the quiver of stress she brought him. It was an exclusive gesture reserved for Moon when she said and did certain things. "I guess we can add dance lessons to our schedule this week."

"Who's going to teach me, though?"

"I am."

"How do you know how to dance?" she added, with clear disbelief. Toffee did not strike her as the dancing type. It was a hard thing to even put into her imagination.

"I didn't step on my teacher's foot," Toffee smirked. Moon frowned at the slight jab and no further explanation, which made Toffee guiltily feel the need to explain. "I taught myself. I found a device called a VCR that plays things pre-recorded and it had recordings of dance lessons."

"Never heard of it."

"It's originally from the Earth dimension."

"I've hardly been out of Mewni before." Moon admitted, with a shrug. Unfortunately, despite the growing popularity of dimensional scissors, Moon had barely gone past the squalor of Mewni's village. There was no doubt she'd get her chance in the future, but for now she was basically stuck in the castle. "Is earth a nice place?"

"Well, actually I bought the VCR at a specialty shop in the village. I've never been there myself." Toffee explained. She looked perplexed as to why he would do such a thing and Toffee knew she would not cease till she received more information. "I collect things from other dimensions."

"Really? That doesn't seem like you."

"Yes, I admit I don't exactly know how it started myself." he added. Toffee pondered on it for a moment more, before he came up with a suitable explanation. "I suppose it's because monsters don't create anything."

"Toffee, you shouldn't say that!" she snapped back, surprisingly. Toffee's main reason for teaching Moon how to be queen was to stop her blind prejudice against the monsters. It was evidently working because she found what he had said very hurtful towards them.

"You think I'm being hard on my race? Fine. Name one thing invented by a monster."

"Uh—what about—no…um—"

"Exactly. They don't contribute anything, even within their own society. All they do is think about themselves." Toffee replied, knowing she wasn't going to come up with anything. While he admired her effort, it was pointless. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only one thinking of the bigger picture."

"But, that's okay." Moon added. He looked at her curiously. "You don't need anyone else's help, but mine. I'm the one who's going to be your queen."

Toffee grinned at her far too much, silently wondering if Moon would notice her incriminating phrase of words. She processed the words seconds after she said them and grew a feverish blush.

"I—I mean—not your queen, specifically. I meant everyone's queen. Including the monsters, if they're into that." she rambled, trying desperately to save herself from embarrassment.

"If it's you, Moon, I'm sure they will be." He smiled to assure her that he would not judge her and she returned it gratefully.

"Can I come over later and see the VCR?"

"There's not much room in your schedule—"

"I was thinking sometime around eight. My schedule is clear then."

"You shouldn't be in my room after five. It's not proper." Toffee added. He was trying desperately not to blush and prayed she wouldn't ask the same question she'd just asked her mother as to why. "I'll just set it up in your room—"

"But, what if I have questions, or what if I accidently break it. You must watch it with me!" she protested, desperately. "What are you so worried about?"

"Being executed." he stated. It was a gracious extension by the Butterfly family that they let Toffee into the castle at all, let alone that he was allowed spend time with their daughter and sole heir to the throne. The last thing he would want to do is be caught alone with her at night, huddled around a strange device.

"Please Toffee!" Moon pleaded. She even broke out the impossible to resist, big, sparkly, puppy dog eyes. She hardly ever used them, because as a royal brat she always got anything she wanted, so they were about ten times more effective then they'd normally be.

"Don't look at me like that!" Toffee snapped, trying to advert his gaze at the helpless expression of innocence. It could literally cost him his life. However, the cuteness sucked even his cold frozen heart in, like a blackhole, and he caved moments later. "Alright, I'll bring it over at eight and we'll watch one tape."

Moon clapped in her victory, while Toffee seemed impassive about it. They finally arrived at the library door and industriously began another day.

It was exactly eight o' clock when Toffee attempted to knock on the door of Moon's room, while holding a plastic box and a slightly tinier plastic box that went inside it.

"Moon, I'm—"

Moon had answered the door looking like she was, well, a proper princess. She was dressed in a sparkly blue dress of layered tulle and had little multi-colored butterflies hiding within each layer. Her long hair was tied up in a bun and fitted with a small golden crown. "—here."

"It just arrived for the ball and I was trying it on," she explained, as if she needed justification. Toffee was still not answering, just looking at her. "Does it look bad?"

"Not at all. I was just surprised."

"Surprised? I wear gowns literally every day."

"This is clearly different." he answered, as if it were obvious.

"Thanks…" Moon mumbled, praying that his statement was a compliment, but not daring to ask for clarification. Instead, she quickly changed the subject towards what was most likely the infamous VCR, "Is that it?"

"Yes." Toffee replied, presenting it to her.

"Wow, it's a lot clunkier then I imagined." she added, taking it from him. The VCR clearly didn't look like anything that had ever been conceived on Mewni. It was heavy, yet somehow also hollow on the inside. Moon handed it back to Toffee, before she imminently dropped it on the stone floor, and was surprised by a thin, rubbery rope hanging from it. "What's this?"

"It's called a cord. I have to attach it to your mirror."

"It can just do that?!"

"No, I've tinkered with it a bit to adapt it to Mewman's advanced technology. A lot of our technology is actually derived from earth, you know." Toffee explained. He entered the room with the device and grabbed her mirror off the wall to make the necessary adjustments.

"And you said monsters don't make anything." Moon chimed, wittily. He gave her small half smile before getting to work. Not knowing what she ought to do in the meantime, she turned her attention to a bowl on her tea table that she had forgotten about in all the excitement. Although, he was busy working and they hadn't even started watching anything, Moon couldn't wait to show him what the bowl had to offer. "I had them make us a snack. Want some?"

"What is it?" he inquired, looking curiously in the bowl at suspicious white fluffs of food he'd never seen before.

"It's called 'popcorn'. One of the chefs discovered it when he studied abroad on earth."

"It's really corn?"

"Apparently." she replied, looking down in slight bewilderment, as well. While they were distracted by the popcorn, Moon's mirror decided to flicker to life. Toffee moved it onto Moon's dresser, for a slightly better view, and popped a black rectangle into the VCR. It took the mirror a minute to process the unfamiliar device before it decided that it would play. "Woah! It works."

"Of course, Moon." he smiled, at her childish excitement.

The screen flashed with some kind of pirate warning, which Toffee had to insist was nothing to worry about and no pirates were coming for them. Moon had just stopped arguing with him about the possible swashbucklers, when a woman appeared on the screen. She wasn't dressed in a pretty gown like Moon, but she was still very beautiful on her own merits. Moon was instantly mesmerized. She had never seen someone from earth, but she could only assume the woman was an earthling. People from earth apparently looked identical to Mewmans, but just wore drastically different clothes.

"Hi! Welcome to Ballroom Dancing for Idiots, Volume 1—"

"Who is she?" Moon asked, mindlessly.

"The virtual teacher you can't hurt."

They continued watching in mostly silence. Sometimes, Moon would get up and practice along with the teacher, while Toffee took the opportunity she was distracted to eat as much of the popcorn as he could. He probably wouldn't admit it, given their deal, but he might've liked it.

"Now, we're going to practice all the steps we covered together." the teacher smiled, reassuringly. "If you are watching this with a partner, it's a little easier. However, it's perfectly fine if you don't have anyone. It's not like you're going to die alone—"

"See, I needed you after all!" Moon exclaimed, suddenly turning on a half-asleep Toffee and yanking him up onto his feet.

"Here we go! One, two, three and—"

The teacher's voice faded out, either from the music or from the fact that both of their attention was intently on the other. Despite the fact Toffee had made such a fuss earlier, for a fraction of a second, he wasn't thinking about being alone with the crown princess in a dimly lit room. Or at least not thinking about it, as if it were such a bad thing.

"You're doing well." Toffee smiled.

"It's all thanks to you…" Moon murmured back, praying it was dark enough that he would not see her blush. The reality of what they were doing was only sinking in at this moment.

"—end of Volume 1. Thanks for joining us!"

They quickly broke apart, Toffee towards the VCR, while Moon scooped down to return the empty popcorn bowl to the table.

"How many tapes are there?" she asked, once again searching for a distraction.

"11, but I'm missing volume 8." he answered, quickly. "We'll be fine without it, though."

"Why don't you try to go find it?"

"Because that'd require me going to earth, which is impossible."

"Why?"

"Not only would I need a pair of dimensional scissors, which if you recall monsters have recently been banned from having in possession. But, it would also require me not looking like _this_." Toffee explained, pointing at himself, bitterly.

"They don't have monsters on earth?" Moon said, as more of a statement then a question.

"No monsters. It'd be every Mewman's safe haven, if it also didn't have magic."

"Are there any books in the library about earth?" she asked him, curiously. Moon hadn't ever thought about other dimensions before, being young and untraveled. There were thousands of places she'd never been and never bothered to learn about. However, a place without magic or monsters certainly sounded like a peculiar dimension. It might be worth a book, or two, if they were able to create such fascinating things without magic.

"A few. I'll pick them out for you tomorrow." he agreed. Toffee quickly detached the VCR and headed for the door, before anything else could happen. While Moon settled in a chair, probably eager to be rid of him, so she could finally get out of her dress. "Goodnight, Moon."

"Goodnight!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A Ball of Royal Brats

It was exactly one hour before the ball when Moon's nerves kicked in. She'd been ping-ponging between excitement and fear for the event all week. However, it seemed like this time the fear was there to stay. Although, Moon had overcome her struggle with dancing thanks to Toffee, another dozen or so worries had arose as the week went on. What if the girls made fun of her dress. What if she tripped and fell into the refreshment table. What if they all took one look at her and thought she was not fit to be princess, let alone queen.

Toffee tried soothing every little fear that came up with his cool, logical attitude. He'd seen her dress and assured her it was beautiful. He'd insisted on chaperoning the event and specifically station himself by the refreshment table. So, if she did fall, he'd be there to catch her. Unfortunately, the last was a fear that he could not find a solution for. People, especially people around Moon's age, tended to make snap decisions about other people and cling to them, rather childishly.

Which is why Moon remained nervous as she stood on the other side of the ballroom doors, waiting to make her grand entrance. Her stalling minutes were running out quickly and for a desperate moment she honestly considered making a break for it. It was all too overwhelming. However, Moon took a few deep breaths and tried rationalizing. When she walked through those doors, she wouldn't be alone. Toffee would be there. River would also be there, despite the fact her parents thought the Johansens' weren't real royalty. He was one of her only friends and Moon knew he would support her no matter what.

One of the doormen coughed, deliberately, trying to get Moon's attention, and she refocused her gaze back on the doors. She gave him a curt, rigid nod, which he relayed to his partner. It was time to move forward.

The doors were opened and Moon was met by every royal from the most exclusive dimensions allied with Mewni. Everyone stared at Moon as she made her first stiff steps into the ballroom, while she was not expected to acknowledge any of them. However, her acknowledgment did fall on a face amongst the blurred crowd. Although, maybe not the oldest creature in the room, he held himself tall and seemed the most grownup. Toffee smiled at her and gestured for her to continue on with what they had practiced. Moon took exactly five steps forward, before she spoke to the audience of her peers,

"Good evening. I'm Princess Moon Butterfly." she smiled. "As the future queen, I welcome you all to Mewni. Please enjoy the festivities to your heart's desire."

Everyone applauded her. Well, everyone, except any of the Ponyheads. But, as a band of floating heads, they were legit. They still whinnied in approval of her introduction. Moon was finally able to be assimilated into the crowd unnoticed. She was about to go find River, when she was suddenly approached by a girl with dark red hair and spiked horns. The girl was accompanied by what appeared to be a cosmic skull with antlers, trapped in a little crystal ball, and a creature whose head was a rhombus-shaped crystal.

"Good evening, princess. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." the girl said, with a curtsy. "I'm Heckapoo and I'll be a part of the Magical High Commission when you ascend to being queen."

"It's nice to meet you." Moon replied.

"I also brought Omni and Rhombulus with me," Heckapoo added. She presented the crystal ball with the skull in it and it waved a galactic hand in greeting. "Omnitraxus Prime can't leave space time, unless there's an emergency, so I brought a crystal ball for him to meet you. He and High Chancellor Lekmet should make up the rest of your council, if everything goes to plan."

"What about him?" Moon asked, curiously, referring to her other escort. He attempted to shake her hand. However, Moon quickly noticed that he had hissing snakes instead of hands, or even hand-shaped crystals. She still shook one to be polite, but inside she was screaming.

"Rhombulus? He's not a member. He looks after the Chancellor and wants to freeze my brother in crystal for being evil, so I brought him with me." Heckapoo replied. Moon was baffled by the blatant honesty and what they were planning on doing. She wanted to freak out, however, Toffee's voice was in her head. He was telling her to act calm and be a lady, no matter what shocking information had just been dropped on her.

"I would appreciate it if no one was crystalized at my ball, thank you." Moon smiled. She was trying a new kind, but authoritative, voice of a ruler.

"Trust me, you'll change your mind once you've met him." Heckapoo groaned. As if on cue, a boy put his arm over her shoulder. He didn't look anything like his sister, or even a demon, for that matter. Dark brown hair, pale complexion, turquoise-green eyes.

"Giving me a glowing introduction, sister of mine." the boy grinned.

"You know it, dear brother." Heckapoo answered, sarcastically. "Princess, allow me to introduce my brother, Lucifer. Heir to the Underworld and—number one tool of our dimension!"

"Heckapoo!" he shouted. She stuck out her tongue and slapped him on the back of his head with a fiery hand.

"You just got Heckapoo-d, son!" she exclaimed, running into the crowd. Rhombulus hovered for a moment, looking unsure about what to do. He wanted to crystalize Lucifer, but Moon was in his way.

"Be lucky the princess has requested no one be crystalized this evening…" Rhombulus muttered, before sauntering off after Heckapoo.

"Are you alright?" Moon asked Lucifer, rushing to his side.

"Yeah. How's the bald spot looking? Is it noticeable?" he asked. She looked and on the back of his dark brown hair was a scolding patch of skin.

"Extremely." she replied, being a little too blunt and honest with him.

"I guess I'll make a trend of it somehow."

"Why are they so mean to you?"

"I have a bit of a temper and they think that makes me evil, or at least Rhombulus thinks that makes me evil. I don't know how my sister feels exactly." Lucifer answered.

"Have you tried apologizing?"

"It's kind of difficult to apologize when she's got reins over her own dimension and won't let anyone else in."

"She does?" Moon replied, looking perplexed. She'd never heard of someone owning their own dimension before. Even she, as queen, would not own all of Mewni.

"Surely, you know of her legacy. My sister is a profoundly gifted magic user and the creator of dimensional scissors." Lucifer inquired, looking at her quizzically.

"Real—I mean, of course."

"As a kid, she always had to make her own lefty scissors. Then, one day, she cut right through the universe and ended up in Septarsis." he explained. "Today, she's honed the craft and someday it'll be the primary system of transportation between worlds."

"Remarkable…" Moon added, in clear amazement. Her gaze found Heckapoo across the room and she just couldn't believe she had so much power. No wonder she was headed for the magic commission.

"I'm sure she's nothing compared to you, princess. The Butterfly's magic is legendary." Lucifer exclaimed, eyeing Moon with peaked interest. "Perhaps, you might be able to show me something with your wand."

"I—I—I—" Moon stammered. Glossaryck had taught her a little bit and she could do lots of things, but she was still only less than a year into her training. She couldn't do anything on par with what someone like him, or Heckapoo, could do.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I'm afraid the princess is not allowed to display her magic to the public until after her coronation." a voice answered for her. Moon turned around to find Toffee had abandoned his position at the refreshment table. How long ago exactly, she was not sure of. But, apparently, he'd been there long enough to hear the tail end of their conversation.

"Well, well, well, Toffee. I didn't expect to see you here." Lucifer smiled, sounding saccharine and sweet. However, he was just over the line of sounding totally fake and it did not go unnoticed. "Although, I'd heard you left Septarsis to service the future queen, I couldn't believe it."

"It was a difficult decision." Toffee stated, simply.

"I do hope it's only temporary. The Underworld might not want to continue its alliance with Mewni, if you're the kind of filth the royal family chooses to associate with." Lucifer snapped, losing a little of what little composure he had. He turned to take leave, before he completely lost it and started making a scene. "I bid you adieu, fair princess. Maybe next time we can meet without a traitorous, monster of a third wheel in our way."

"He's as subtle as ever." Toffee scoffed, as him and Moon watch Lucifer stroll back into the crowd.

"Toffee! It was going well. Why'd you have to butt in and scare him off?" Moon snapped at him. Despite the fact he'd just saved her from having to display her subpar magic, he'd also just frightened off a potential friend.

"Believe me, it was not my intention to scare him off." he added, trying to sound uninterested. However, when Toffee had seen her talking with Lucifer, something had come over him. A disturbing urge to intervene. "He is, after all, your parent's top choice for your husband—"

"Excuse me?" Moon snapped at once.

"A marriage-based alliance would unify Mewni with the Underworld and together take the final blow towards the monster race, driving them into extinction." Toffee explained, a little slower for her to understand.

"Including you?"

"Certainly, if Lucifer has anything to do with it."

"Nope. Not happening." she replied, cutting him off again. Moon was enraged by the coolness in his voice as Toffee said such horrible things. "I mean, he seems nice and I can't vouch for the future. But, if marrying him means your death, I don't want to marry someone like that."

"Then, you risk losing the alliance entirely and leave Mewni vulnerable to future wars." Toffee insisted. Although, he was speaking more wretched truths, it was only to fight off a small grateful smile growing on his face. He was secretly pleased that she didn't want to marry someone who would kill him and the monster race. She was progressing rather smoothly. "It's simple politics, Moon. As queen, these are the types of decisions you'll have to make."

Moon frowned, clearly finding yet another reason why she did not want to be queen, and Toffee felt slightly guilty for being the clear cause to her distress.

"—but, not today. Look, we can worry about that bridge when we get there. Why don't we just try not to think about the future for a while and have a little fun, okay?"

She nodded in agreement, perking up a little. Toffee grinned too and returned to his former position. As soon as she walked off to go find new people and start socializing more, the music got slower.

 _Oh no…_

The dreadful moment she'd been waiting for had arrived at last. It would be the first slow dance of the evening. Couples twirled together, and Moon was soon left on the sidelines without anyone. She looked for someone free, but even River already had a dance partner. He was dancing with a tall girl across the room. She had a curly fro of hair and wasn't smiling at him, but regardless had chosen him for a partner. Moon had prepared herself for the possibility of trampling all over some poor boy's feet, but not for not having one to begin with. She had never felt so miserable and rejected. Everyone was looking at her between intervals that were not spent looking at their partners. The crown princess of Mewni was alone at her own ball. Then, suddenly, someone grabbed her hand. Moon looked up to find Toffee was pulling her forward, towards the middle of the dancefloor. She was struck silent, by the jolt of electricity that had passed between them, and her body just seemed to move on without her. The others stopped to talk and whisper. They cleared the floor and created a big circle around them. They were admittedly a beautiful, bewitching sight to behold.

Their gazes were locked onto each other and it was as if they were back in her room listening to VHS tapes with poor audio quality. Completely alone together. There was no one else, but Toffee.

The song ended and Moon returned to being surrounded by people. Toffee was about to take leave and go back to being an odd decoration in the room, when suddenly he was struck on the back of the head by some kind of pastry. The room snickered, but Toffee didn't react other than attempting to wipe it off the back of his head. Then, came another aimed at his face. Confections flew around the room, until Toffee was not the only target.

Mayhem ensued and food was thrown everywhere. Moon tried to be a lady and get it all to stop, but after River and Prince Ponyhead threw a couple pies at her she lost herself in the madness. It was a few minutes of chucking things with Heckapoo and Rhombulus, who she had teamed up with to get back at River, before Moon realized someone was missing. Toffee had left the room completely. It just dawned on her that all of this started as an act of hate against him and, instead of going up against it, she'd encouraged it by joining in. She was about remove her wand from her pocket and attempt to stop everything, but all she could grab was more silky fabric. Moon did not even have time to panic to the fact her wand was missing. A loud voice boomed above the flying food and attacking war cries,

"That is _enough_!"

The food instantly stopped. Everyone froze, except for the speaker with the commanding voice. By the inflection of authority, Moon had assumed her mother had heard the commotion and had come to put an end to the chaos. However, it was not the queen who had spoken. Moon looked back to see the girl River had been dancing with. She was holding a glittery golden wand, wrapped with black thorny vines. It only took Moon a second to realize that was her wand, even though it looked completely different, and that everyone had not stopped of their own free will. She had forced them all to stop. The girl turned towards Moon with a wicked sort of smile.

"Hello, dear cousin. _We meet at last_."

"Who are you?"

"Azkadellia Butterfly, rightful queen of Mewni."

"No, you—"

She rubbed a hand across her cheek and revealed a dark clover, which made Moon gasp and the rest of the crowd murmur.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you, a real Butterfly woman always covers up her cheeks at parties." she sneered, pompously. "Clearly, this evening, you have displayed that you are not fit to be queen. Not only do you have no decorum, or elegance, but you allowed the most powerful heirloom of the Butterfly family to be stolen with such ease."

Moon was stunned silent. She clearly didn't have any arguments to retort with, so Azkadellia threw her a bone. She literally tossed the wand up in the air and Moon ran to catch it. The wand transformed back to into her own crystal heart as she caught it in her hands.

"You're lucky I'm giving it back. A real thief wouldn't."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to be queen, obviously. I'm officially announcing my candidacy." Azkadellia replied.

"It's not an election." a voice shouted, in objection. Toffee reappeared in the crowd and made his way towards the growing conflict to mediate. Azkadellia scowled, but Moon grew a gracious expression that he had returned. "Moon is the only candidate for queen."

"I'm surprised someone like you would forget a law," Azkadellia laughed, cruelly. "But, then again, you're just a monster in a fancy suit pretending to be Mewman."

With only a few sentences, she had managed what it had taken self-proclaimed rebel Moon Butterfly weeks to do. Make him angry…

Toffee was ready for attack, however, Moon grabbed his wrist.

"Toffee, _don't_!" Moon exclaimed, trying to speak as quietly as she could so no one would notice him about to attack. However, everyone saw him snarl at the girl with a low growl and look at her with a longing maliciousness. The glowing, vicious eyes turned on Moon when she dared to grab him, but she didn't back down and she didn't let him go. After a moment, he returned back to normal and thankfully Moon's new enemy had been too busy monologuing to noticed the monster had changed at all.

"—The law clearly states if a Mewni princess, or queen, proves she is unfit for her title, she will be exiled from Mewni and her crown will be given to the next eligible lady of the family." she explained, haughtily.

"Is it really true, Toffee?" Moon inquired. Did he really forget to tell her something so important in all their lessons?

"She's right…"

The crowd murmured louder than ever at the exciting gossip and Moon found herself even more overwhelmed then she had been entering the ballroom initially. Finally, after a heart-wrenching minute, she hiked up her dress and made a mad dash for the exit.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Flags and Fortune

" _She's just heinous!"_

Moon was currently storming her room in an angry huff, complaining to the only person that understood how she was feeling and would actually listen. Her parents would simply tell her she was being silly, or unreasonable, and River wasn't exactly good at throwing shade. He was a sweet, docile boy. However, Toffee was different from all of them. He didn't say it out loud, but she knew he felt the same way about her cousin that she did.

The ball had been several days ago, but Azkadellia Butterfly had come to stay at the castle. The king and queen, unfortunately, didn't see through her charming façade and invited her to stay for a while. They had probably heard the news, considering it was in a buzz around the entire kingdom, but hadn't officially commented on it. Moon's parents either believed that there was no way she could beat their daughter, or that it might be more practical to have another option available for the kingdom. The latter was sadly the more likely option considering, despite Moon's progress, she still wasn't on par with Azkadellia. Manners and grace were something she came prepackaged with, while Moon was still learning to control herself. They were tested on many aspects of queenship, since Azkadellia's arrival, and Moon barely managed to secure the wins that she had. The score was currently tied, but it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"You'll get the better of her, Moon. I am sure of it." Toffee replied, after Moon finished yelling and collapsed back into her seat.

"I can't deal with her any longer. She's a proper nightmare." Moon grumbled, sinking her face into the table. She'd never been so tired. "I just wish there was a test to end it all."

"If there really were a showdown-type test, are you certain you would be able to beat her?"

"Are you siding with her now?"

"Certainly not. That fascist little girl will be queen over my dead body." he answered, with a note of sharp grit in his smooth voice. "I'm just saying you may not be ready for an all-or-nothing battle. Azkadellia's greatest strength is her power of manipulation, that she passes off as manners—"

"You got that right." she grumbled. "How do I beat a total kiss ass—"

"Manners are only one part of being queen. The main prospect will always be magical power, which will be your best chance to beat her."

"Maybe not." Moon sighed. Toffee had thankfully not seen Azkadellia's brief ownership of the precious Butterfly heirloom. She knew that if he had, he might really reconsider staying with her. "She only had the wand for a split second, but she was so much better than me."

"Which is why I've been thinking of abandoning your lessons with me." Toffee added, suddenly. Moon froze at the unexpecting announcement. He couldn't be serious about abandoning her at a time so crucial. "Well, I say thinking, but I've already discussed it with the king and queen. It's been decided that starting Monday, you'll be back to training exclusively with Glossaryck and I'll be leaving."

"But, Toffee—"

"Moon, please don't argue with me. You've got to do this." he added, sharply. Toffee got up to leave and Moon panicked. She did not realize how immediately he meant to go and how long it would be. What if she never saw him again. For some reason, the thought was so unbearable. Moon was not ready and she clung onto one of his sleeves in a childish desperation not to let him leave.

"I still need you, though…" Moon mumbled.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to go." Toffee replied, simply removing her grasp of his sleeve like he was picking off a fly. He didn't look back, but not because he didn't want too. There was a horrible urge inside him that yelled at him to look back at her and at least say goodbye properly. However, he knew she'd toss out puppy dog eyes, trick him into staying somehow. It wouldn't take much effort. If he wanted what was best for both of them, he'd keep his gaze straight and leave. Toffee just silently prayed she understood.

That was the last of their lessons and he was gone by the following Monday. Although, she wanted to, Moon did not see him off. She never said a proper goodbye. It would've been too heartbreaking and it was not the image of a queen to cry in front of anyone. She had really come to like him. Instead she held back, grabbed her spellbook, and began to throw herself into practice.

"Okay, what's next?" she asked Glossaryck, after performing another spell with perfection.

"You're working diligently today. I thought for sure the new training schedule would bother you." Glossaryck added, looking baffled at Moon's change in attitude. He'd never seen her so diligent and motivated.

"I've decided to be better for someone. I need to work hard, for their sake." Moon reported, with a hint of a smile.

"My, my, it sounds a lot like love. Have you started seeing someone, Moon?" Glossaryck implied, suddenly. Of course, she grew red at the bold insinuation.

"What—no, no, no. It's nothing—Oh, my…"

"Apologies, your highness. Shall we continue?"

"Yes..."

Months went by in the castle. Moon's magic steadily grew better, but unfortunately it was not powerful enough to eject her cousin from the running. Azkadellia remained in the castle and Moon no longer had anyone to vent her true feelings with. Thankfully, it did not bother her too much. Although, Toffee was gone he still was constantly in Moon's thoughts and she had a feeling he had not forgotten her either.

When Moon turned fifteen, she had a more refined ball to celebrate it under the king and queen's guidance this time. She was showered with several things she already owned, by people she didn't know, and was expected to be grateful. However, the only thing she found worthy on a table full of presents, was a small handwritten, birthday card. The mysterious birthday card merely said, 'Happy Birthday Moon', and nothing else. But, she knew Toffee had sent it from the way the 'M' in Moon swirled elegantly, as it did in his writing, and how he had not called her princess. It was the only thing worth saving. Moon gave everything else to the village, which gave her image a charitable tone, she naturally used in the battle against her cousin.

Moon sat in the library, on a break from her lessons with Glossaryck, catching up on a book she was reading. A free moment was rare, so she read as fast as she could as she could in five minutes. Her only birthday request of the king and queen was more books about earth be added to the library. She'd wanted more books on where he was from, but apparently books on Septarsis weren't a thing. Earth wasn't a bad second choice, though. She really liked the fashion of the dimension and was currently reading a book about the history of earthling fashion. They used to dress like Mewmans, but had somehow evolved into wearing bright neon colors and tight fabrics. She had just finished another chapter of her book, when someone entered the room. Moon looked up to find a servant. He immediately bowed and told her the reason he'd been sent to her,

"Princess, the king and queen are requesting you and Lady Azkadellia's presence in the throne room."

"If this is another throne posture test, I swear to god..."

She arrived in the throne room a few minutes later. Azkadellia and her parents were already waiting there. Moon curtsied to the room and took her place besides her cousin.

"You wanted to see us?"

"We have called you both here to inform you that we're going to be reinstating the Butterfly family reunion." King Juniper announced.

"A reunion?" Moon and Azkadellia stated, simultaneously, with matching tones of curiosity. They barely held back vicious glares at one another, as the king continued on elaborating.

"Yes, seeing you two girls together we've realized that it has been far too long since we got the families together, so we're planning a little something for next weekend." King Juniper explained.

"Sounds utterly delightful, don't you agree, Moon?" Azkadellia added, with a bubbly smile that only Moon could tell was completely fake.

"Of course." Moon replied, with a deadly fake smile of her own.

"Glad to see you both so enthusiastic about this." the king grinned. "Since you've have been having all those cute little competitions, I also thought it'd be a fun to play Solaria's old game: Flags!"

"Really? They're finally going to remove that musty flag from the hill?" Moon inquired. For as long as she could remember, a flag had remained on the top of the famous Mewni hill behind their castle and that was the reason no one could play Flags. It was an old rusty thing now, but still had a sinister purple eye that haunted whoever gazed upon it.

"Well, we've finally figured out how. The queen that stuck it there infused it with powerful magic that made it nearly impossible to remove."

"Which queen?"

"That's not important. It's gone now, which means you girls are going to get a shot at making flags and sticking them at the top of the hill."

"Excellent news, father. May we depart now?" Moon stated, assuming that was all the news they had. It was a little too impatient and came off rude in manor, but she was already ten minutes late to reconvene her lesson with Glossaryck and simply could not afford to miss a minute longer.

"You may. Good luck girls!"

They curtsied together in respectful departure and briskly walked side-by-side towards the hall. Moon tried to walk faster, in attempt to shake Azkadellia and get to her lesson before she inevitably started talking about the most recent news. She didn't want to hear it and she didn't have the time for it. However, Azkadellia was determined to get in Moon's head.

"If I were you, I wouldn't even bother making a flag. I mean, what's the point—"

"Not only am I going to make a flag, but you're going to have to look at it sit at the top of the hill for years!" Moon shouted, suddenly, furious.

"You can't beat me, Moon. Everyone knows it."

"Then, how about a wager? If I beat you, you stop trying to dethrone me and get out of here." Moon snapped back. Azkadellia's eyes widened and Moon covered her mouth. She had not meant to say it out loud. It was not becoming of a princess to say what she truly meant. Also, not to bet her legacy on a simple game. However, Moon didn't take it back. She was too tired and aggravated.

"And, when I win?"

"Whatever you want."

"Fine. It's a deal..."

The day of the reunion soon arrived and castle was littered with the members of the Butterfly family and the Lowmores, King Juniper's side of the family. The official spot they were all cultivating around was a small picnic feast of corn at the bottom of Mewni's famous hill. What made it so peculiar from all the other hills was the fact that it had been enchanted long ago to contain every sort of natural obstacle. One section of the hill had harsh rains and stormy wind, another had a moat of lava and fire spitting up all around it. Needless to say, the hill had enough obstacles already without the royal family trying to tear each other apart to get to the top.

Moon sat nervously clutching her pale blue flag, her plate of corn untouched. Unlike her relatives, she had not used magic, but had sewed the entire thing by herself. The center of the flag had her classic blue crystal heart from her wand and the bottom had 'Princess Moon' embordered in gold lettering. It was a pretty thing and normally she would be certain it would be the one to reach the top, but she feared she had made a grave mistake challenging Azkadellia. There was so much to lose.

"We'll be starting the game in ten minutes!" a voice shouted, suddenly.

"Moon, are you ready?" Queen Willow asked, noticing her daughter's odd behavior for once. The Moon she knew would have polished off five cobs of corn and already be over by her father's family throwing down smack talk.

"Yeah. I just have some business—over there." Moon replied, pointing in a random direction. She followed, walking casually at first, but gradually getting a little faster with every step. When suddenly, paying too much attention to her feet on the ground, she bumped into something. Moon would've been knocked over from impact if the figure had not grabbed her shoulders. Her gaze lingered only for a moment on the familiar claw-like hands, before she grew a bright, excited smile.

"Less haste, princess. You nearly knocked me off my feet." Toffee stated. He released her shoulders and, instead of stepping back, she embraced him.

"Toffee! You're back!" Moon exclaimed, in joy. It may have been premature thinking, but she was certain she would never see Toffee again and here he was. He was frozen by the surprise attack, but quickly regained his senses after seeing the royals not too far away. He didn't remove her, however, kept his peripheries on the crowd.

"I never left, Moon. I may have stopped being your teacher, but I'm still one of your parent's advisors." he answered.

"I still missed you." she glowed, looking up at him with a glittering grateful expression. A look of innocence his cold heart could simply not handle. Toffee quickly removed her arms, realizing she had no intention of removing them herself.

"Where's the king? He insisted I bring these documents over today." Toffee inquired, referring to a set of scrolls on the ground that he may, or may not, have dropped in his collision with Moon.

"He must've forgot about them. Father tends to space out about things when he's got something on his mind." Moon replied, pointing over to her father and the rest of the Lowmores. Normally, a refined set of royals from 389th dimension had become ravenous creatures at the prospect of a vicious game ahead of them. "He's really excited to play Flags."

"Flags?" he inquired.

"It's an old family game. The only objective is to make it to the top of the hill." she explained. "Other than that, there are no rules."

"It sounds intriguing."

"You should stay and play! It'll be way more fun if you're in it."

"I doubt your family wants someone like me competing." Toffee mumbled, eying the distant crowd again.

"I don't care though. There are no rules and I'm inviting you." she replied, clearly not seeing the problem.

"I don't even have a flag." he reasoned.

"You can be on my team." Moon insisted. She pointed her wand at the flag and it changed in a puff of smoke. Two dot eyed faces had appeared besides the crystal heart. Moon's on the left and Toffee's on the right. The golden script at the bottom had also changed from 'Princess Moon' to 'Team MoonToffee'.

"Moon, I don't think—"

"Competitors to the starting line!"

"Come on, _let's go!_ " Moon exclaimed, eagerly, pulling Toffee's arm towards the starting line. Seemingly having no say in the matter, he lined up beside Moon at a bright white line. Everything about them attracted stares. From their flag, to their team in a solo bloodshed competition, they were a sight to behold. For a brief moment, absolutely no one was focused on the top of the hill. Moon didn't seem effected by the stares, despite the fact her father and Azkadellia were amongst them. Although, it might've been a good idea to tell Toffee something before they had a bunch of people staring at them. She leaned in and whispered in the general area of where Toffee's ears would've been if he had any, "By the way, I made a bet with Azkadellia that the winner would get to be queen. So, it's kind of important for us to win."

"Moon—!"

"Ready. Set… _Flags!_ "

It was a little of a delayed reaction because of their lost focus, but the two families quickly recovered at the sound of the starting gunshot. In a roar of battle, they all took off to the rocky bottom of the steep hill, even Toffee. Although, he should've been stunned and utterly frozen by Moon's truth bomb, he started running up the hill, determined to be ahead of everyone else. As a monster, he was much faster than everyone. Unfortunately, he was attached to Moon, a slow Mewman girl who was horribly unfit and dressed in the wrong attire. Her older female relatives managed to hike up their skirts and climb the rocks, however, Moon was finding it a struggle to manage her dress, her wand, and the flag all at once.

"Keep up, Moon! We can't afford to lose." Toffee scolded, lifting her up from the last bit of the rocky section without breaking a sweat.

"When did you get so physically fit?" Moon huffed, obviously out-of-breath.

"I was born for battle." he answered. However, it didn't feel that way to Moon. If she were to immortalize him in her memories, she'd always see him pouring over piles of papers, or sitting quietly reading a book in the library. It was hard to imagine him as a soldier. Although, now that he mentioned it, she did remember Toffee exhibiting immense strength before. He'd ripped apart a man-eating plant with his bare arms to rescue her.

Moon was about to question him more about what exactly he meant, when he was hit by their first attacker. Moon's aunt, Etheria, had stabbed her flag into the ground and the ground between them began to tremor and break apart.

"It was just as my daughter said. My dear niece is following in the same path as _her_." Etheria scoffed, her plump star cheeks high and mighty. Before they could even question the mad woman's rantings, she removed her sharp flag and glared over at Moon with vicious eyes, "I'll end you right now and save the family another scandal!"

Moon didn't react fast enough and Toffee had to do something. Etheria ended up stabbing her flag right through his left arm instead of her niece's head. He winced for a moment in pain, however, he simply ripped it out and tossed it into the new abyss she had created. He lunged at her trying to toss her down there with it, but she threw what appeared to just be normal seeds at his wounded arm. They burned upon contact and magically grew out of his wound into thick thorny vines, tying tightly around him. After that, it only took her one touch to knock him down and, knowing her niece would not continue without her beast, continued to make her way up the hill.

"Toffee!" Moon yelled into the cavern, praying he was still alive.

"Leave me! Keep going." Toffee commanded. Moon frowned at the order and wasn't about to follow it.

" _Rainbow rescue!_ " A beam of multicolor light radiated from her wand and lifted Toffee up like a conveyer belt and set him softly back on the ground. She began to unravel the vines around him with a frustrated expression. How did he expect her to go on without him? "We're in this together, alright?"

"Get on my back. You're too slow." Toffee stated.

"You literally have a hole in your arm. You need to regenerate."

"There's no time. We've already lost a lot of ground."

Moon let him pick her up without further argument and together they went on. They were definitely a lot faster. Moon could shoot spells at people that were either staring at them, or too locked in battle to stare at them. It was a better system, even if it was a little embarrassing. They made their way through the rain zone, up the snowy section, and were nearly through the fiery lava pit surrounding the peak. They were on the edge on a rock, surrounded by lava and thinking of where to jump next, when a green force knocked Moon right off Toffee's back. She would've fell in pit, if Toffee hadn't had amazingly fast reflexes. He turned to catch her and they landed haphazardly on another floating rock a few feet away.

"Darn! It would've been a great achievement to kill a Septarian..." a familiar voice pouted. They looked up to see Azkadellia was standing on a nearby rock in the inferno, scowling at them with disgust. It figured she would be their final foe and when they met her she'd be playing it all up too seriously, "Nice creativity, Moon. Getting your filthy lizard servant to do all the work for you."

"Azkadellia, you could've killed us!" Moon shouted.

"That's the whole point of the game. Do whatever it takes to win."

"I'll hold her off. You just make it to the top." Toffee added. He shoved the flag into her hands, expecting her to run along with it. However, she just stared up at him with the same frustrated expression she had before.

"No!" she shouted. "I didn't invite you here to fight my battles."

Moon shoved the flag back into Toffee's arms and glowered at Azkadellia. It must've been some kind of special rage because Moon's eye began to glaze over with an ominous glow. She raised her wand and sent a large blast at Azkadellia. She nearly avoided the beam by inches and fell back on her rock. She tried retaliating with magic of her own, shooting fast beams at her, but whatever had come over Moon would not be stopped with such weak magic. Moon shot another powerful blast and Azkadellia was overwhelmed. She got hit full force and was knocked towards the lava, except she didn't have a Toffee to save her from falling in. There was luckily a rock across from her she could barely reach her arms on.

"Help me!" she whimpered, hanging on for dear life, sucking in her stomach as it hovered as a bridge between the two patches of rock. Moon's eyes returned to normal and she rushed over to her cousin in distress. However, she had not come to help her.

"After me and Toffee win, I might consider it." Moon stated, coldly. Toffee came over as well, to see the verdict. She whispered something to him and, with a thoroughly confused expression, he picked up Azkadellia and tossed her to solid ground. Moon's wand materialized some rope and they wrapped around Azkadellia's hands automatically. Moon turned away, stashing her wand in her pocket, and taking back the flag from Toffee, "Any last words for her, Toffee? She may not be dead, but she won't be coming back to Mewni. Ever."

"Perhaps, this will teach you a thing or two about manners." Toffee sneered. Moon was certainly more merciful then him. He would've let her fall. She'd evolved into a better person then even he could produce. "You will never be queen, you heinous little girl."

They ran together out of the spitting fire, past the other fighting relatives, and right through to the very brief normal section of hill that was the top. Before anyone else could stop them, they had stuck their flag into the soft soil. The mad bloodshed suddenly stopped and they were all forced to clap for the winner, as tradition required. Or, in this very rare case, _winners_.

"We rule the hill and nothing crushes us!" Moon announced to the crowd, holding Toffee's hand and raising it up as far as she could considering his arms were twice as long as hers. Everyone mumbled in bitter anger, as they made their way down, leaving Toffee and Moon at the peak alone to revel in their small victory. "Please come back…If not to teach me, then just as a friend."

"A friend?" he questioned. What the heck was that?

"After everything, that is what we are now, isn't it?" she said. "Don't you like me?"

"Of course." Toffee confessed, being more honest then he'd probably ever been before. She smiled, having won a much bigger victory then the hill. Moon had successfully found something Toffee genuinely liked and it was her. Toffee noticed it too and smiled off his defeat,

"Very well. _Friends_..."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Moon's Mewberty

Toffee had agreed to Moon's proposal of friendship. But, quite honestly, he had no idea what the word really meant. It was not in a monster's nature to have friends. He still tried his very best to humor her, even going as looking up the definition in different dictionaries and reading some of the greatest tales of friendship. However, despite all Toffee's best efforts, it became clear that friendship was not the type of thing he could force himself to learn.

Although, seemingly impossible, Toffee did not give up and at least kept putting in the effort to make it work. Every day, after giving his daily report to the king and queen, Toffee snuck off to meet Moon in her room or the library. With Azkadellia gone, she was allowed to cut down her magic training and spend time with him. It wasn't too different from their lessons, except for the fact he was no longer using her for his own gain. Friendship with the princess didn't have any gain. Instead of Toffee molding her into the person he wanted to be and talking on-and-on about manners and responsibility, it was a more mutual exchange. Sometimes they'd talk about mundane things, like the corn yield, or the weather. However, deeper conversations emerged as the days went on. He was learning a lot about Moon that probably even her parents didn't know about. She told him of her desire to own either a pig-goat, or a warnicorn, as a pet one day. Another time, she talked of how he had inspired her to travel outside of Mewni and the first place she wanted to go was earth. After a while, Toffee slowly began to enjoy their time together and started to think that he might be cut out for friendship after all.

That was until his 'friend' turned into a literal butterfly monster and almost got him killed.

Toffee was late that day. King Juniper was trying to make small talk with him for a change, after years of knowing each other. He was wondering about how long Toffee intended on doing this and if he ever planned on settling down. It was a nice gesture, but it made Toffee realize how little he talked about himself. Which he found odd. When did he start wanting these people to know anything about him? In this particular case, it was because in Mewman years Toffee was only nineteen, four years older than Moon and mentally in his mid-thirties. Mating had not crossed his mind, which was not too absurd considering the lifespan of his species. He still had an obscene amount of time. So, he simply told the king he was focusing on his career and would work for as long as he was granted the permission. Toffee doubted he would understand the Septarin lifespan and he didn't have the time to explain it.

He was trying to look casual as he walked down the hallway to Moon's room. However, it was a bit difficult when he kept nearly getting knocked over by fleets of maids in passing. They seemed to be running away, holding various miscellaneous items from the princess's room. Toffee might've mistook them for thieves if all the objects weren't painted with thousands of little bright blue diamonds.

"What's going on?" Toffee inquired, stopping Sandra. She was Moon's maid, who had once caught him trying to kick down her door, and was one of the few who was aware of their friendship. She was holding a big pile of what looked like blue paint splattered sheets and a lamp that had been destroyed, looking quite flustered.

"Sir Toffee, you must not go see the princess now! She's extremely dangerous and her temper is horribly vexed." Sandra replied. Toffee found her distressed manner very unnerving. Nothing ever bothered her. Not even a vicious monster trying to break down the princess's door.

"Why?"

"I shouldn't say. It's not proper." she mumbled in excuse. "You mustn't see her in such a state, okay? Please return when she is feeling up to it."

Sandra ran off after the other maids without any further explanation. Toffee naturally wasn't about to listen to her vague request, despite how desperate she was. He knew Moon better than anyone and knew there was no way she could ever be dangerous. This was surely just a tantrum, or something else that he could easily remedy. There was nothing suspicious about her door, unlike the rest of the items in her room, it remained untouched by whatever affliction she was supposed to have.

"Moon, are you alright?" Toffee asked, with a soft knock.

"NO! I'M DYING!" Moon yelled back, dramatically.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"Was 'I'M DYING' not clear enough!?"

"Let me in. I'll try to help." he insisted, jiggling the locked handle.

"No! You'll only make it worst." she screamed, between sobs. Moon was crying and Toffee sighed, unsure what could be done about it. He wasn't expecting her to be like this.

"Best leave her be, Toffee."

A dull voice had spoken from behind him. Toffee turned to fine Glossaryck had appeared out of nothing, floating on top of the giant spellbook he resided in.

"Glossaryck, what're you doing out here?" Toffee asked, curiously. Usually he and the book resided in Moon's room, resting on a glittering golden stand. Then again, Toffee had seen one of the maids rushing the stand in pieces down the hallway.

"I made the mistake of pointing out a blue diamond on her forehead and she chucked me and the spellbook out the window," Glossaryck sighed. "Never tell a princess she's going through Mewberty."

"Mewberty? What's Mewberty?" Toffee inquired, immediately. Naturally, as a male Septarian, he'd never heard of such a thing before.

"When a Mewman girl is of a certain age, her body goes through a sort of transformation." Glossaryck explained, simply.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Glossaryck…" Toffee snarled, threating and vicious.

"She should be back to normal by 3:57pm, or she won't." Glossaryck added, hastily.

"Won't what?

"Won't be back to normal."

"Is there anything I can do to help her?" Toffee pleaded. Glossaryck simply shook his head, but Toffee would not simply give up while Moon was suffering all alone. "Let me check the spellbook. Surely, there has to be something she can do with her magic."

Toffee grabbed the book out from under him, unknowingly becoming the book's owner and preventing Glossaryck from stopping him. Although, Glossaryck didn't really feel like stopping him, even if he could have. Why exert the energy? He merely waited for Toffee to sift through pages, knowing he wouldn't find anything and would give simply give the book back when he was done. Toffee was smart, but he didn't know the first thing about magic. However, after a couple hopeless turns, he managed to land on the one page in the book he ought not to have. Several pages were bound together in glowing purple chains with a crude skull-shaped lock sealing away the contents.

"No, no, no." Glossaryck quickly shut himself inside the book, before Toffee inevitably questioned the ominously chained chapter. There was a lot he'd let slide, but the chapter in question was not allowed to be read by anyone. Let alone someone like Toffee. If it could taint even the best of souls, the damage it could do to his battered soul would no doubt be irreversible and horrifying. "That's enough of that now. Sorry, magical princesses only."

"Fine. I'll try something else." Toffee stated, seemingly giving the matter no more thought. Moon was more important right now then some bizarre chapter in a book Glossaryck wouldn't let him read. He thought for another moment, before coming with a rough plan of what to do. Getting the idea from his brief encounter with Sandra, Toffee kicked the door with full force. It took about three kicks to cave in, but he made it through.

"Moon—!" Toffee immediately stopped when he saw her. She was sitting in one of her chairs, a mess of blue diamonds trailing onto the floor in swirling stems, like it was a growing plant. She was staring out the large paneled windows into the distance, looking too unperturbed for someone being consumed by diamonds. "What the—?"

"Toffee, what took you so long? I've been waiting for you." Moon grinned, with a creepy unnatural air. "Such a handsome boy…"

"Listen, Moon, we've got to get you to a doctor or something." he said, at once, knowing something was clearly wrong with her mind if she was calling him 'handsome'.

"Sorry, no can do." she replied, turning back to the window. She was looking at the frame with eyes to eager. Toffee could tell she wanted to jump. "I was thinking about going to see what River and Ponyhead are up to today. Maybe go see Lucifer…"

"No! We're going—" Toffee grabbed her wrist and his hand was instantly enveloped in blue diamonds. He tried to remove it, but it had stuck both of their hands to the table like gum. As soon as he touched her, the symptom seemed to accelerate more rapidly. In seconds, they started filling the space between them until Moon was incased in a glowing pod. Toffee just barely managed to wretch his hand free from the horror cocoon. He decided instantly that brute force was not the right choice in this matter and took a few steps back, trying to figure out what was happening to no avail. It pulsed with a faint heartbeat and Toffee slowly re-approached. He placed a cautious hand back on the pod. It was thankfully solid and not interested in absorbing his hand back inside. Moon put her hand up to his. Then, another and another and another and another and another. Toffee backed away again as six hands had placed themselves against the blue skin of the cocoon. Together they ripped through the shell and Toffee soon saw what Glossaryck had meant by 'transformation'.

The creature had a vague resemblance to Moon. Her face remained for the most part the same, except her skin had been dyed in the same blue as the pod that had grown around her. Her hair color remained unchanged, but was now being kept up to look like a beehive and sported a pair of antennas. Transparent wings had sprouted from her back, completing her small resemblance to a real butterfly. Moon's new wings fluttered with movement and lifted her into the air. Her glowing eyes stared at him, bright and unfeeling, but quickly turned to look back outside. She gave Toffee no more attention, having no more time to waste on pray who would keep on resisting. Her new, hasty, animal-like mind made the decision and she tore right through the window, sending shards of glass everywhere. Toffee had covered his eyes for just a moment, but by the time he reopened them, she was already too far gone.

"I told you." Glossaryck added. He was floating in the door, impassive to the fact the princess had literally just shattered a window and was flying off into the distance. "Good luck trying to stop her now."

"I'm going after her." Toffee stated, finally breaking from his blank stare at the window and jumping into action.

"I wish you wouldn't." Glossaryck sighed. However, Toffee had stopped listening to his pessimistic comments ages ago. He rushed to Moon's mirror still with an unclear plan, but a crazy idea of what he should do next.

"Call Cato of Avarius." he ordered. The mirror repeated his request and began dialing, while Toffee paced around it impatiently. A beaked monster soon became visible in the mirror.

"Toffee! Is everything alright? It's been ages since—"

"I don't have a lot of time to explain. I need you and your wings. How fast can you fly to Mewni?" Toffee exclaimed, before he could get into any sort of small talk.

"Ten minutes, if traffic on the royal mile ain't bad." Cato replied.

"Excellent. Pick me up in the third tower of the Butterfly's castle." Toffee hung up the mirror without any further explanation and began pacing around the broken window. Glossaryck sighed not wanting to intervene in the situation any further, but feeling he simply must.

"Honesty, Toffee, it's not worth the effort going after her. She should be fine." Glossaryck insisted.

"She's barely been out of the castle before. How do you expect her to find her way home?" Toffee argued back. Glossaryck looked at him puzzled and perplexed. Not only did he not have a clever retort, but he was struck by Toffee's manor, as if he had literally just noticed him acting peculiar.

"Huh, intriguing. I've never seen you like this before." Glossaryck stated, with a curious tone. Toffee stopped for a moment to acknowledge the statement, but quickly returned to his pace. "Could it be you care about the princess?"

"Is that a problem?" he mumbled, just loud enough for Glossaryck to hear him. Maybe it was a mistake admitting it, but it was not like it was something Toffee could hide at this point.

"No, no, no, of course not." Glossaryck assured. "Well, it's at least not a problem with me. The king and queen, however, might have quite a few things to say. I'd be very careful, after the whole Eclipsa scandal."

"Who?" Just as Toffee had asked the dreaded question, a figure appeared in the window, blocking the natural light from flooding into the room.

"Alright, Toffee, I'm here." Cato said. Toffee turned to answer him, but quickly turned back to Glossaryck, realizing he had yet to answer the question on a scandalous person named Eclipsa. However, just like Moon, he had used that split-second Toffee was not looking to vanish. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing. Let's go…"

"What exactly are we doing?" Cato bucked up the courage to ask, after several minutes of flying around without any explanation.

"We're looking for a creature that looks like the princess, except she's got six arms and butterfly wings." Toffee answered.

"Of course. Just another one of those." Cato added, with a dry sarcasm. However, something buzzed by in the corner of his eye, that proved his skepticism false. He looked as the creature Toffee had just described was flying high over the village, hundreds of feet away. "There she is!"

"After her!" They flew fast after Moon as she zoomed away. They flew over the village and Toffee suddenly realized she'd already been there for quite a while, leaving a mess in her wake. The village was covered in blue diamonds. Certain boys were practically glued to the ground and crying, River and Ponyhead were amongst them.

"At this rate, she'll be headed straight for the Underworld."

"Lucifer…" Toffee murmured. Moon only knew a handful of boys and Lucifer had to be her next target simply on that fact alone. She was after any boy and she was just quickly going down the list of ones she knew. That was it, or at least that was what he told himself, to fend off an uneasy emotion he'd rather not deal with. "Keep right and we should beat her to the castle."

Cato and Toffee crashed through one of the spiked towers of the Underworld's castle fifteen minutes later, making zero effort to conceal their presence. Lucifer naturally came running in at once and, as Toffee suspected, guard-less. Not only was this his room and didn't have time to grab anymore demons, but he foolishly believed his powers were strong enough to take down anyone.

"Toffee!" Lucifer gasped, in clear surprise to see Toffee and his associate. "You've got some nerve, breaking into my castle."

"I don't have time to deal with you. Moon will be here soon!" Toffee snapped. He suddenly started taking various items from the room to barricade the window they'd just broken through.

"This is a problem, why now? I've been eager to see the princess again—"

"You don't understand! She's not well..." Toffee shouted, trying to give Lucifer as little information as he could. However, it would seem Lucifer wasn't going to simply shut up and go along with what he said. Thankfully, but also unfortunately, a familiar buzz had arrived to back him up. Toffee peered through the designated peephole he'd put in the makeshift barricade. She didn't know where they were yet, which gave him the opportunity to show Lucifer what had become of the princess.

"There."

"I must say, I kind of like her better this way. She makes a cute monster." Lucifer grinned, pushing Toffee aside a little to get a better glimpse at Moon's transformation. "What happened? Did you bite her? Is it permanent?"

"No! It's not permanent." Toffee hissed, through gritted teeth. "It's called Mewberty."

"Never heard of it."

"Typical…"

"You could say that again," a voice replied, haughtily. They turned to find Heckapoo had appeared from a glowing amber portal. She was glaring, looking fed up with them already, even though she'd clearly gotten there just then. "You two are idiots. What do you think you're doing?"

"When did you get here?" Lucifer questioned.

"I called the queen, wondering if I could invite Moon to tea and she tells me Moon is ailing." Heckapoo replied. "I didn't know she'd be here. I came to visit my dear brother instead."

They all looked at her with skeptic, unbelieving stares, clearly not buying it for a second. Even Cato was wondering if she was seriously trying to pass that weak lie off and he didn't even know her.

"Okay, I used a spying spell. I've been following her." she admitted, after a moment. "But, it's not like you boys are able to handle something like this without me."

"What do you know about Mewberty?" Toffee inquired, trying to hide his desperateness for information on Moon's ailment. Glossaryck had not been reassuring that it would ever end at all. He didn't know what he'd do if it really did last forever.

"Demon girls go through something similar. Earthlings too, I think." Heckapoo said. "I have to go through it every sixteen years because of suspended time in my dimension. So, I think I'm your best bet of getting her back to normal."

"I don't remember you turning into something like that when you still lived here." Lucifer protested.

"That's because, in my case, I grew a hundred feet and tossed you into a cliff. You flew all the way to garbage beach— where you belong."

"Bravo, sister!" He slow-clapped with as much hostile sarcasm he could muster in the moment. However, his eyes quickly glowed in anger and, the second he stopped clapping, his hands conjured two fireballs. "I swear, I'm going to—"

"Simmer down, Lucifer." Toffee added, sternly. He literally had to hold Lucifer back by his arms for a minute, until his eyes stopped glowing and he calmed down a little. "Heckapoo, do you think you could open a portal to trap Moon in here?"

"Someone would need to fly me out there. She's moving too fast." Heckapoo replied.

"I think I'm your guy." Cato volunteered. Heckapoo nodded and they began tearing down the barricade together, discussing the plan of action in more intimate details,

"Why can't I just lure her in? Doesn't she want me?" Lucifer reasoned to Toffee, who was also just standing off to the side while they did all the work.

"We can't risk her dragging you off somewhere. Just stay put and let your sister handle this." Toffee answered. As the window reappeared from the heap, Cato and Heckapoo departed towards the creature. Moon noticed them immediately. However, since one was a girl and the other was a monster, she wasn't interested. She zoomed away from this new set of pursuers, but was also intent on stopping them this time. Moon sent several fast shots in their direction and Cato just managed to dodge all of them. He was definitely not at his prime for fighting with someone attached to him and it was unknown how long they'd be able to keep dodging her barrages.

"What time is it?" Toffee asked Lucifer, sharply. He was clearly worried about how long they'd be able to fend her off.

"I don't know, like 4 o'clock. What's it matter?" Lucifer snapped back, still obviously bitter.

"Glossaryck said, if she were to turn back, she would've done it by three fifty-seven." Toffee explained.

"That's oddly specific."

"She has to turn back..." Toffee mumbled.

"Look, that was just my best guess. There still could be time—" he stopped talking as Toffee set a foot on the sill without a companion to fly him out. "What are you doing?"

"I have to talk to her."

Toffee exited from the window and started to climb the castle to its highest point. He was surrounded by a pit of lava, with about a hundred foot drop below him, but he was not perturbed by any of it. He didn't know if he was being crazy, or if something like this would work. Glossaryck may have been right, he might've been making a fool of himself. However, even if it didn't, it was something he felt he must say. He waited for her to flutter by close enough, although she was in the midst of a heated battle and gave him no attention.

"Moon, I don't know if you're still in there, but if you are, I'd wish you'd stop all of this. Try to fight it off. I know you can." Toffee shouted. She gave no indication of hearing him, but he went on regardless. "Please…I don't want my only _friend_ to turn into a monster."

Suddenly, she stopped. Moon acknowledged his presence for the first time after dismissing him as a nuisance in her new objectives. She flew closer to examine his expression. Fear and desperation were not becoming of him, but regardless the creature in her was flooded with remorse. The blue diamonds that had taken over slowly started to peel revealing her pale form. Her hair fell down and she shed her translucent wings, revealing the true Moon once more. Toffee was grateful to see her again, however, was not allowed to savor the moment. The unfortunate thing about transforming in mid-air was now she was falling.

"Moon!" Toffee jumped from the castle just in time to catch her. Although, it didn't do much good, considering now they were both falling.

"Faster, Cato!" Heckapoo exclaimed. They flew recklessly past the falling couple and were thankfully able to pull ahead of them. Heckapoo tore a rip with her scissors for them to fall through. In an instant, they were all piled onto the bed in Lucifer's room. In the midst of the untangling, Moon stirred awake. She looked around at the surroundings with confusion and found Toffee was sitting next to her.

"Toffee? Where am I?"

"The Underworld. We kind of took a surprise trip." Toffee replied, unclearly. He probably should've explained properly what had happened. However, he didn't want to have to admit his true feelings so freely again. He'd opened up his heart too much for one day. "I'm glad you're okay."

Moon hugged him tightly, with a grateful smile and, to show he felt the same, he hugged her back. However, a flutter of something against the palms of his hands objected to this gesture.

"What was that?"

"Ah! My Mewberty wings." she squealed, in excitement. Moon turned around slightly so he could see a tiny set of wings sprouted on her back. "I must've seriously blacked out because I don't remember a thing. I hope I wasn't too much trouble."

"You're real lucky I have such a long lifespan." he sighed, rubbing his temple.

"So, you were worried?" Moon questioned, with a mischievous air. She already knew the answer, but asked the question any way.

"Naturally." Toffee replied, like it was an obvious fact. However, the first time she'd asked him that, his answer had been completely different. "I was afraid you weren't coming back."

"Toffee…"

Lucifer coughed, purely to re-establishing his and everyone else's presence in the room. They broke out of a world of their own and Heckapoo approached them, before her brother got the chance to address the figurative elephant in the room.

"Here Moon. I think you should take these." she stated, presenting Moon with something from her dress pocket. The gift did not need to be opened to notice the scissor shape in the wrappings.

"Dimensional scissors, really?!"

"Any girl that can comeback from something like that is worthy of a pair." Heckapoo grinned. Everyone examined the valuable gift with interest as she unraveled it from the paper. Lucifer seemed especially interested, considering his sister wouldn't give him a pair in a million years. They were the color of the night sky with a small moon connecting both parts together. Her name was engraved in ancient Mewman on the blade. "Besides, how are you going to visit me in my dimension without scissors."

"You want me to visit you?" Moon questioned, sounding too surprised at something that was generally so normal.

"Yeah! We should be friends, while it's not totally weird. Trust me, when you're like forty and I'm still like this it's going to be weird." Heckapoo explained.

"Okay!" Moon grinned. She didn't have any friends that were girls and was very excited to finally make one.

"We should really be getting you home, Moon. Let's go now." Toffee insisted, guiding her towards the door. There was a lot he had to deal with. After returning her to her parents, they'd probably have him conducting a cleanup of the town, fix Moon's window, and make sure she got all her furniture back. It was not technically his job, but he felt responsible enough for her escape and would probably do it all, regardless of whether they asked.

"No fair! I want to be the princess's friend too." Lucifer shouted, suddenly. He'd been simmering and pushed off to the side for far too long. Everyone stared at him and he instantly regretted his childish outburst, shriveling up in utter embarrassment. "If she'll have me, that is…"

"Of course." Moon replied. She was too content to notice such an obvious sign.

"Care for a lift back to the castle, Cato?" Toffee asked him, as Moon cut them a portal with her new scissors.

"That would be welcomed, after dragging me into this." Cato replied, with a tired sigh. They waved farewell to the Lucitors and stepped into the swirling portal.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy the action." Toffee was saying, as they took their first steps into the Butterfly castle. "How's Lord Brudo treating Avarius?"

"Miserable. Last week—"

"Who's this Toffee? Is he a friend?" Moon asked, suddenly taking more notice of the unfamiliar face then she had before.

"An old comrade." Toffee answered, simply.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Moon Butterfly, crown princess of Mewni." Moon said, with a curtsey, as Toffee had taught her to do.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, princess." Cato smiled back, bowing to her as well. "I hate to rush out, but I ought to get back. One of the Lord's bratty kids has probably set fire to the castle by now."

"Good luck." Moon smiled, as they waved him farewell. He saluted them, before jumping from the nearest window and soaring through the sky. "He's got nice wings. I wonder if mine can do that…"

Moon suddenly jumped up, flapping her tiny little wings as hard as she could. She briefly hovered off the ground in a glimmering hopeful moment, however, she fell to the floor a second later.

"Nope." she frowned, in conclusion. Toffee's impassive expression faltered slightly with a tick. Moon could tell he was holding back. "You know you can laugh, if you want too."

"I'm not laughing." he claimed, unconvincingly.

"Let me guess? Because you don't laugh." Moon mocked, for a matter of fact. Her attitude quickly changed and Toffee saw her form an exciting idea right there. "Looks like I've got a new goal! I'm going to make you laugh so hard, one of these days. You won't be able to stop."

"I look forward to it, Moon..." he replied, with an earnest smile. Toffee extended an arm out for her, to escort her to the billions of duties they both had to face together, "Shall we?"

Moon stuffed the scissors in her pocket and took up his arm. The rest of the day would be filled with nothing but work and obligation. They weren't likely to get anymore adventure in their lives for quite a while. However, she didn't pout about it. She was certain that this was merely the start of many more adventures to come with Toffee.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Song Day Date

By the time Moon turned sixteen, she was seen as a more model figure for queen. To the public's eye she was 'Perfect Princess Moon', a reformed rebel who had transformed into a lovely young girl. She was as intelligent and well-mannered, as Toffee had made her up to be. However, Moon was still not as regal as she appeared. Only the princess's most intimate associates knew of her pair of dimensional scissors. By nightfall, Moon was able to sneak away. She could race dragon-cycles with Heckapoo across the plains of her dimension, or party with her friends at the Bounce Lounge. Just as long as she was back by morning and her parents remained oblivious, Moon could live how she wanted to. It was not an ideal situation, but she seemed content with how things were going for the moment. She was still the princess everyone expected her to be and got to live the life of adventure she'd always wanted for herself.

However, there was one major downside to this new life of escapades and danger that she'd not been expecting. Her best friend was hardly in it...

" _Call Toffee."_

Moon paced in front of her mirror a little, before stopping to tap her foot, impatiently. Where was he? After knowing Toffee for two years now, she knew he was never late. If he wasn't there by now, he was blowing her off again. It was undoubtedly more paperwork that could not be pushed aside, even when called upon by the crown princess. Toffee's labor with Moon was finally being acknowledged, as she was re-introduced to the kingdom as a fine lady. The king and queen were using him as a good example of a beneficial relationship between Mewmans and Monsters, which Toffee was fine with. It made the kingdom see more of the non-threating side to Monsters and would ultimately lead in his main goal of fairness and equality for all. He was so popular and celebrated that he'd even been offered to run a new reform school for other wayward princesses such as Moon. Thankfully, she was able to convince him to turn it down. Not only would he be way too busy, but she'd never get to see him again, without getting herself thrown into what sounded like a glorified version of jail. In return for his loyalty, her parents gave him an even higher position in their court and more responsibility over Mewni. Unfortunately, that still meant he was busier than ever.

Toffee appeared in the mirror about three anxious dial tones later. His amber eyes were drooped and his neat hair was a little scruffy. He would've only looked this disheveled in front of Moon. He knew better than to ignore her calls.

"Moon, I told you yesterday. I'm swamped with work."

"I know mom put you in charge of the 'Avarius Swamp Restoration Project', but I haven't seen you in forever and you promised we'd hangout today." Moon pouted.

"I'm sorry, Moon. I'll make it up to you." Toffee sighed. Moon frowned, knowing how carefully he'd chosen his words. He could easily worm out of it because it was technically not a promise. It was a trick that might've worked one her when she was younger and his vague word was all she needed. But, she was older and wiser now. Toffee could see it in her expression this would no longer work as a sufficient excuse. "When's the next royal function? I'm more likely to be able to make it to one of those."

"Well, today is my Song Day. But, if you're not free now, I doubt you'll be free by tonight."

"Isn't Song Day supposed to be sometime when you're fourteen?"

"Yeah, they kept pushing back the date because the stupid songstrel couldn't find anything to rhyme 'Moon' with other then 'loon'." she replied, coldly. Toffee cracked a small smile. "It's going to be awful. Please come save me, Toffee! I'm begging you."

"I'm sorry—"

"Ugh, fine! Some bestie you are…" Moon fumed, before he even got the chance to apologize again. She hung up the mirror, not wanting to hear any more of his excuses. When Heckapoo first gave her a pair of dimensional scissors, Moon thought Toffee would be included in this new life adventure. She thought they'd be traveling different dimensions every week, together. However, it felt like she saw even less of him than before. It was great that he was gaining such positive recognition for his achievements, but she didn't want him completely abandoning her for his job.

Moon was given a moment of screaming into a pillow, thinking on how much of a stupid butthead Toffee was, before the mirror suddenly started ringing.

" _Lucifer calling."_

Moon rushed to look like she hadn't just tried smothering her face to death and answered the call. Lucifer lit up with a crooked, but handsome, fanged grin, as he appeared in her mirror and she appeared in his.

"Hey, Moon. You're here! I've been trying to get through for ages."

"Luci-baby, I'm so glad to see you. Please tell me you're here to drag me to hell!" Moon groaned, dramatically, only half kidding. She desperately needed something to take her mind off Toffee and going to the Underworld seemed a lot better than getting ready for Song Day.

"I can, if you really want me to, but I'd rather you come willingly." Lucifer joked, playfully. He eventually noticed her sour expression that refused to go away and sighed, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or am I going to need to call my sister?"

"Don't tell Heckapoo!" Moon exclaimed, hastily. "I complained about River the other day and she stranded him in Dimension 46."

"Is he okay?"

"Probably."

"So, what's the matter?" he inquired, again.

"I was supposed to meet Toffee today, but he flaked out on me." she replied.

"That's what you get for befriending an old lizard man." Lucifer added, bitterly and unremorseful.

"Toffee isn't that old."

"Right, the bizarre Septarin life cycle and humorless attitude only makes him seem wretchedly old."

"Regardless, we're still besties." Moon claimed, pushing aside all Lucifer's negative comments on Toffee. She was mad, but still refused to listen to Lucifer badmouth him. "I just wish he'd make time for me."

"I have time for you. Why don't you go out with me instead?" Lucifer reckoned, mostly out of the blue. "I'll even be your date for Song Day. We can sneak in tomatoes to toss at the songstrel."

"Like a friend date, or like a date-date."

"Date-date."

"Oh, I didn't know you felt like that." Moon mumbled, suddenly very nervous.

"Really? I could've sworn it was painfully obvious from the moment I rushed over to talk to you at your first ball." Lucifer laughed. Moon blushed even more feverishly. That was nearly two years ago. She'd never once suspected he felt this way. Her experience with romance was so limited. "So, what do you say?"

"Alright." she agreed, quietly.

"Excellent. I'll meet you by the hill at noon." he grinned. Lucifer bid her farewell and hung up. It took Moon a couple minutes to sink in what had just happened and realize her mistake. Although, Lucifer was a good friend, she was certain she did not like him in that way. Without anger clouding her judgement, she quickly realized the only reason why she had said yes. Toffee's inevitable jealousy.

"Oh geez. What have I done?"

The mirror started ringing again and his name flashed on the screen.

" _Toffee calling."_

"No, no, no! Call denied." Moon gasped, quickly. Out of all the people she really didn't want to talk to right now, Toffee was the first and only person on her list. Although, after savagely hanging up on him, she really should've expected it. The ringing thankfully stopped at Moon's command and she sighed in grateful relief. "Crisis adverted."

The ringing returned, somehow with an angrier, violent pitch to it than before.

" _Toffee calling."_

"I don't want to talk to him." she shrieked. The ringing stopped again. However, it was an even briefer silence before it started up again.

" _Toffee calling."_

 _You know he's just going to keep calling back._

"Fine! I'll accept the call!" Moon shouted. She mentally braced herself as Toffee reappeared in the small frame of the mirror. It was no surprise he was angry after being clearly ignored.

"Moon! Stop sending me to voicemail." he yelled.

"What do you want now?" she groaned.

"The queen just called to invite me to your Song Day celebration." Toffee explained.

"And?"

"I'm setting aside some work and am going to be there for you. If you'd like, I could come down a little earlier—"

"Sorry, no can do, Toffee. I have a date with Lucifer." Moon replied, with a cruel smugness in her tone. Now that she knew Toffee's intent, she was secretly reveling in the fact he'd come back and she got to tell him this. He tried to remain impassive, but his expression couldn't help but go shocked and blank at the news.

"I beg your pardon."

"Yeah, he just called me and asked me out. I figured, since he's my future husband, I should probably say yes." she chimed, with a taunt grin of payback and satisfaction.

"What idiot told you that?" he snapped, immediately.

"You did, you idiot! Remember right after I met him you basically said marry him or go to war." Moon retorted back, dryly.

"That was before—" Toffee stopped himself immediately from nearly saying something he ought not to have and Moon frowned even harder than she already was. She knew exactly what he wanted to say to her and she wish he'd just admit it already. It was clear they're friendship was on the tracks to something more for some time now and she was growing extremely tired of feigning innocent to that fact. "Moon, I know there's a lot of pressure to marry Lucifer someday, but that doesn't mean you have to."

"It's one date, Toffee. Get a grip." Moon abruptly hung up on him again, before he could say another word. She didn't have any more time to argue with him, when she had a date to get ready for.

It was about an hour later when Moon heard an unexpected knock on her door. She gave the okay to enter and her maid quickly shuffled into the room.

"Princess, the king and queen would like a word with you."

"Now? But, I'm about to leave." Moon replied, knowing her maid was not about to tattle on her for leaving the castle.

"They know." Sandra admitted, flatly. In an instant Moon knew exactly what she really meant. They didn't just know Moon was heading out without permission, they knew about the date, and there was only one person who could've told them.

" _That son of a—"_

"Ah, there's my little girl." King Juniper grinned, warmheartedly, upon Moon's arrival.

When Moon entered the entrance hall, she found Toffee was standing beside her mother and father, in a close circle. Moon gave them a quick curtsy, keeping her head down, in what they would assume was to atone for her misbehavior. However, in reality, she was trying not glare daggers at Toffee's fake innocent smile.

"Look who's here, dear. Toffee has come by specially for your Song Day celebration this evening. Isn't that nice?" Queen Willow gushed, expecting her daughter to be excited at Toffee's sudden appearance. She blatantly ignored Moon's displeased expression upon seeing him. "He has also told us all about your upcoming date with Lucifer, which we had no idea was even happening."

"I apologize. It was a sudden arrangement."

"Don't fret, Moon. We couldn't be more thrilled!"

"Thank you for your approval." Moon added. Although, frankly, she did not care whether they approved or not. "Well, we're meeting up in ten minutes, so I'd better be off now. Thank you for any impending offers, but I won't be needing a chaperone today."

"Unchaperoned? What a preposterous idea, Moon! You need a chaperone to go out. Especially, if it's on a date." Queen Willow argued. "Luckily, Toffee has offered up some of his valuable free time to help you out."

Moon internally screamed when Toffee joined her side. She wanted nothing more than to strangle him.

"Come now, princess. We'd better be off."

"You are literally the worst." Moon muttered, in a hushed whisper.

"I know." Toffee smiled, proudly.

They left the castle and walked over to the hill, where Lucifer was already waiting. He should've been unhappier to see Toffee, considering their history, but he was really more surprised.

"What in the world—"

"Lucifer, I believe you've met my chaperone. Old, lizard man, Toffee of Septarsis." Moon chided, cruelly, presenting him. Ignoring her cold stinging insults, Toffee gave Lucifer a simple nod of acknowledgment.

"Chaperone? What era are we in?"

"Evidently a dated one. Let's just get going..."

Toffee palpably complicated things, which Moon suspected was his plan from the beginning. She knew all of this would now be reported back to the king and queen, so they could not leave the dimension, or talk very freely, under his judging eye. He made everything more strained and awkward than a first date already was.

"Sorry, there's not many romantic places to go in Mewni." Lucifer added, probably sensing Moon had wanted to go somewhere outside of their dimension. They had arrived unexpectedly on the murky shores of Garbage Beach. It was not the best place they could've ended up, but Moon was hoping the wretched odor would trigger Toffee's superior sense of smell and he'd leave them alone.

"Don't worry. It was probably this, or the Forest of Unlikely Spider Bites." Moon reasoned. What sounded like a muffled cough had chosen to come out just as she said this. At first, she thought Toffee couldn't take the smell and her plan had succeeded already. However, upon turning around to look at him, she noticed a rare look and knew it was something else. "What are you laughing about?"

"I'm not laughing."

"Yes, you are. Don't think I don't know that look. In your mind, you're having a right laugh about this mess, aren't you?" she accused, bluntly.

"I am not." he repeated.

"We'd be able to run off to the Bounce Lounge, or somewhere else fun, if it weren't for you. Why are you here?" Moon argued.

"Do you believe everything would be going fine, if I weren't here? You are sorely mistaken, Moon." Toffee snapped, an agitated tone arising ever-so-slightly from his normal muted one. "This date would still be going horribly, whether I was here or not."

"Well, I wouldn't be on this date at all, if it weren't for you!"

"Why is that, princess?"

"Maybe because, despite how much you try to hide it, I know how you feel about me! You don't need to be so jealous, Toffee," Moon shouted back. He was about to dispute her claims, but she wasn't done yet. "If you had just asked me out in the first place, I would've said yes because I love you, you idiot—!"

Moon slammed her hands over her mouth. She'd gone too far. Unlike Toffee, she'd been unable to hold herself back from saying it out loud. Although, she was almost certain he felt the same, he still said nothing. Toffee just stared at her, with an unreadable expression, and Moon was suddenly convinced she was wrong. He didn't feel the same. His jealousy at other men and the stolen glances of utter endearment must've been deluded figments of her imagination. Of course, how did she expect someone who didn't know love to reciprocate her feelings?

"I've got to go…" she mumbled, in utter embarrassment. Moon quickly removed her wand and, in one poof, conjured a cloud for her to jet away on. He called after her, but she did not look back. Moon landed back at the castle several minutes later and ran for her room at once. Her door closed with a slam and no one chased after her.

" _Moon? It's time for your song, are you ready?"_

It was a few hours later when Queen Willow decided to check on her daughter, not knowing for sure whether Moon had come home at all.

"I'll be over in a minute." Moon called, through the door. She had just managed to get her hair just right and make eyes to appear un-puffy. It was imperative that she looked unbothered by what had happened earlier. She didn't have the time to be heartbroken. The event would officially present her as the next queen of Mewni and the whole kingdom would be watching her.

She quickly glided down the hallway towards the viewing balcony, feeling mostly fine. However, the content mood she had worked so hard on achieving was instantly shattered upon arrival to her seat.

"Oh no…"

"Good evening, princess."

There on the balcony were her parents, the Magic High Commission, and, to her unfortunate dismay, Toffee. He was sitting nonchalantly, talking to her mother, in a brazened in a midnight frock coat. It was bad enough he was here in the first place, but did he also have to look so handsome?

"Don't stand on ceremony, Moon. We're just about to start!" Queen Willow exclaimed, patting the velvet chair between her and Toffee. Moon rushed to her seat, trying desperately not to look at Toffee. She knew he wouldn't dare bring up what happened in such a public setting, but being this close to him was pure agony. The lights thankfully dimmed and she was spared from catching his eye.

The curtains were drawn and the songstrel appeared on stage with his lute. The crowd clapped, as he bowed, and the announcer made the necessary introductions. A puppet of Moon was suddenly lowered down from the rafters and the songstrel began to sing:

 _Perfect Princess Moon, she's great in every way._

 _Everything she says and does is absolutely right._

 _Her hair is silky soft._

 _Her favorite color's pink._

 _She flosses every day,_

 _And she never needs to sleep._

 _The Perfect Princess Moon,_

 _She's nice in every way._

 _Always in a sunny mood,_

 _Even on a cloudy day._

 _Her sugar-coated heart of gold will make everything fine._

 _She plays with puppies and kisses kitty cats, eats her vegetables, and smells like lavender._

 _Perfect Princess Moon, she's a fan of smiles._

 _Perfect Princess Moon will be our queen!_

Everyone whistled and cheered, while Moon sunk deeper into her chair in embarrassment. It had been just as horrendous as she thought it'd be. She wanted nothing more than to complain about it with her best friend, until she remembered they would need to have a different conversation before they'd ever be able to get back to that point of familiarity. She turned towards Toffee, but found he was no longer sitting next to her. Moon swiftly rushed up and ran back inside, hoping she was not too late to catch him. However, she found him not to far away, hunched in the shadows. At first, she thought he was sick. His hand was over his mouth and his arm was clutching his stomach. However, catching a glimpse of his face in the low torchlight, Moon saw it was something else.

Unable to hold back any longer, Toffee let out a wholehearted cackle. It was surprising nobody else was rushing in at the sound. He had such little time to get out twenty years' worth of laughter. It wouldn't stop. Moon wanted to laugh with him, but didn't feel like she deserved to. However, she still smiled at finally seeing him keeled over laughing at something.

"I take it you enjoyed my Princess Song?" Moon inquired, with a mischievous air.

"It was so wrong! Utterly wrong." Toffee laughed, still unable to contain himself. He finally stopped after another moment, realizing he was alone with Moon for the first time since she admitted she loved him.

"It wasn't all wrong! Look how soft my hair is." she huffed, forgetting what was supposed to be a difficult conversation. Moon grabbed his hand and made him feel a section in proof.

"Huh, lavender…" he remarked, suddenly. Her shampoo smelled like lavender. Moon had never been this close before, at least not for this long. The comment was a distraction for himself not to tell her she looked enchanting in the moonlight.

Toffee put his hand behind her head. Suddenly, he'd pulled her even closer and there was no longer a barrier between them. He'd given up any sort of reason he was holding onto about why he shouldn't be in love with her and pressed his lips against hers. Electricity sparked between them and Toffee felt his cold blood instantly warmed. For Moon, it was a more of a cold feeling, but intoxicating regardless. When Toffee pulled away, she was burning. However, when she gazed into his eyes, Moon couldn't tell what he was feeling. Any sort of affection she'd seen him exhibit right before he kissed her had been immediately drained away. Other voices from outside grew closer and they immediately put a good five feet between them. The king and queen peeked their heads through the balcony entrance and beckoned Moon to return to the celebration. She turned to address them for just a second.

But, of course, when she turned back Toffee had disappeared into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Heaven is a Place on Earth

" _It can't happen Moon."_

" _Why not?"_

The difficult and inevitably awkward conversation had to happen eventually. Toffee had only managed to fend it off for a week, before he decided the matter needed to be addressed. They couldn't move on from it, until they discussed it properly. Evidently, that was Toffee's plan. Moving on and pushing back any sort of grander feelings he had for her. After kissing Moon, he realized that he'd made a foolish mistake and there was no way they could continue on with a normal relationship. Moon, however, was not thinking as logically as he was. She wanted to be with him. She didn't care about the hundreds of consequences, no matter how many times Toffee went over them with her.

"There are countless reasons." Toffee sighed. They'd been running around in circles figuratively and literally for about a half an hour now. "Firstly, you're sixteen, Moon. That's too young."

"It's only four years! Why does everyone act like it's forty?" Moon groaned, in frustration.

"With my species lifespan, it might as well be forty." he reasoned.

"So, you'll die a lot slower." she concluded.

"That's not all there is too it, Moon." Toffee sighed. "Remember, back in our early studies, you wanted to read all the earth books in the royal library and you grew fond of a fairytale called, _Beauty and the Beast_?"

She nodded quietly, knowing slightly where he was going. Moon had always thought there were no fairytales in the library. However, the book in question was found in a dark abandoned corner, after she and Toffee scoped the place for all the earth books. She liked it because she related to the protagonist who was given a life of luxury, but found little solace in it. But, Toffee was clearly referring to the main premise of the novel. He was not under some curse that could ever be lifted and their love would bring nothing but hardship. There was no happily ever after for a pair like them.

"Well, there's no prince underneath here. Just a monstrous beast."

"That doesn't change a thing, either." Moon dismissed. "Whether you're a Mewman or a monster, I'll still like you regardless."

"Just because you can overlook it, doesn't mean society will. Even if they grow to truly accept me, there is no way they'd ever let a monster be king of Mewni. The Butterfly's would never produce another heir and the monarchy would crumble."

"You're thinking too far ahead, Toffee." Moon reckoned, with a small smile. Although, he was right about her not thinking in the long term. In royalty, it was not common or proper for a lady to sift through men. Once she picked a suitor, Mewni would expect her to stick with that man through marriage.

"It is necessary. These feelings, if we do not suppress them now, will grow."

"That's kind of the idea of a relationship. It's a little late for suppression, don't you think?"

"The consequences are too grand to move forward…" Toffee declared, with a tone of finality. Moon wasn't done though. She would never be done with him, until he really listened to her.

"But, I love you." she murmured, suddenly quiet and demure. Why didn't he understand that, or factor it into any of this argument? Toffee hadn't said it, but based on everything, he felt similarly. So, why did they have to suppress these feelings and move on? Just because it was not the way it was done, because people would revolt at such an obscure relationship? That was bullshit. "Does that really mean absolutely nothing?"

"It means everything that you feel so greatly for me. No one else has." he replied, with a small smile. Toffee finally stopped to look her in the eye. He wanted to tell her how much he didn't want to do this, he wanted to be honest for once.

"Then, just say yes. Give me a chance."

"I'm sorry—"

"One date!" Moon exclaimed, desperately. She may have been a little too distressed, but it was the only shot she would probably ever get. Once the conversation ended, Toffee would leave, and she'd lose her best friend. They couldn't possibly go back to what they had, after this whole mess passed over. "Give me one date and if, after that, you can still say you can't do this, I'll choose somebody else."

"Very well." Toffee sighed, after a moment of thought. Moon could already tell it was not a good response. His intention was to get through whatever she planned and still tell her this couldn't happen, despite what he really felt.

"Meet me in the gardens, next Friday at seven o' clock."

The rest of the week, until that forbidden Friday evening, was slow and dreadfully boring. Toffee continued with his work for the king and queen, while Moon continued with her princess duties. They did not engage with each other, or so much as even speak to each other the day before, to confirm their secret date was still happening.

Toffee met her in the garden precisely at seven that night, as agreed upon. He was shrouded in a long, dark cloak to try and conceal his identity to any unwanted eyes that could possibly be leering. Moon was at least as sensible. She didn't dress in anything too flashy, just one of her everyday dresses and a similar cloak.

"Where are we going, Moon?" he asked, curiously, upon arrival. He couldn't see them being able to appear anywhere in Mewni together without being caught.

"You'll see…" Moon grinned, mischievously. She removed her scissors from her pocket and cut a rip in the universe to another dimension.

"I'm not getting in that portal, until you—"

Moon caught him off guard and abruptly shoved him through. Toffee fell back and was sucked into the blue light. He hit the ground in a strange new world. They were now sitting by the edge of a creek surrounded by concrete hills and tall bridges. It appeared to be a trench in the middle of a society, with miscellaneous trash pieces littering the area and ugly scattered trees. Considering they had worse eyesores on Mewni, it wasn't too bad. But, having come directly from a romantic and beautiful place, such as the royal gardens, it looked like a horrible place for a date. Moon, however, seemed exhilarated and simply satisfied with the surroundings.

"Welcome to Earth!" she exclaimed, throwing out her arms and presenting it to him, proudly.

"Moon, I can't be here. The earthlings will form a mob and chase me down with pitchforks!" Toffee snapped. He quickly redrew the hood of his cloak, before anyone could see him. However, he had an unfortunately long snout that still stuck out, despite how far he pushed the cloak over his head.

"Not tonight. It's an earth holiday called, Halloween, where everyone dresses up like monsters."

"Really, Moon? Holidays aren't that ridiculous."

"Look around! I'm not lying." Moon claimed, huffily. Toffee obliged her request, running up the concrete hill to see for himself. The town was decked out with orange and black decorations. They'd carved faces into pumpkins and left them out on the streets with candles to make them radiate a soft warm glow. However, what stood out the most in Toffee's eyes, were the various people who also were dressed like they weren't from this dimension. Toffee spotted a few princesses, a couple pirates and, to his slight bewilderment, several horrifying monsters. No one could obviously compete with Toffee, whose 'costume' was far superior that it made everyone look terrible by comparison. Most of the earthlings wore cheap suits and poor makeup, trying to poorly emulate something that was not in their biology. Toffee didn't care though. For the first time, everyone would not see him as a monster, but as a person and that was everything he could've ever hoped for.

"My word…"

"Come on! We've got a ballroom dancing videotape to find." Moon added, appearing behind him.

"That's why we're here?" Toffee said, slightly bewildered. "I can't believe you remembered such a thing, after all this time."

"Of course, I remembered. How could I forget?" she replied. They began to walk down the storefront of little shops, attempting to take in the sights, but also keep focused on a store that might have what they needed. Toffee dropped a lot of his pretenses and ended up holding Moon's hand as they went on. Partly not to lose her, but mostly because he wanted to. Finally, after a few minute walk they stumbled upon a shop with a videotape shaped sign and several boxy screens, which must've been what the earthlings watched things on. "This must be the place."

They entered the shop with a chime of a little bell attached to the door. The man attending the counter gave the otherworldly pair a contemptuous glare for coming in so close to closing time.

"Excuse me, do you have _'Ballroom Dancing for Idiots, Volume 8'_ , by any chance?" Moon inquired.

"Of course. However, it's not usually protocol to break up a set. Sorry." the man replied, unremorsefully.

"We only need the one, though. Can please you make an exception?" Moon pleaded. She broke out those desperate, young, pretty eyes that she often used to get what she wanted and Toffee knew from past experience the man was about to cave any minute. "We're not exactly from around here and this is probably our only opportunity to get it."

"How much can you offer for it?" he mumbled, after a moment, turning behind him to pull a singular tape out of the rack.

"Do you accept gold coins?" she asked, pulling out a little bag from her pocket. The shopkeeper looked bewildered as Moon poured the gold onto the counter next to the tape.

"Honestly, Moon?" Toffee sighed, burying his eyes in his hand. He didn't want to mention her forgetting to exchange for earth currency in front of an earthling, but he needed to silently profess his frustration with her in this moment.

"You two are an odd pair. Are they making a new fantasy movie around here, or something?" the shopkeeper said, looking a little closer at the pair with intrigue.

"Just going out for Halloween." Moon replied, breezily.

"Really? This guy's monster makeup looks pretty professional. There's no way this is the work of an amateur." the shopkeeper hedged, closer to the truth than he realized. The sudden comment on Toffee's appearance made him grow paler and quickly returned him to his paranoid senses. He grabbed Moon, protectively, as if the man would attack her for Toffee being a monster.

"We'll be taking this now. Trust us, the worth of our currency is far greater than yours. Good day." Toffee informed, grabbing the videotape as well, as he made his way back for the jingling door. They left without much trouble and were soon back in the cool autumn air.

"We got it!" Moon beamed, proudly, despite the tense air Toffee had created around them. "Aren't you happy?"

"We should really do a better job at blending in. We could've been exposed back there." Toffee answered, stiffly. She thought he was going to insist they go back home, but he merely drew his hood back on as far as he could. "Where to next?"

The very second Moon opened her mouth to answer, a low growl escaped her stomach.

"You skipped dinner, didn't you?" he scolded, while she flushed in humiliation. "Come on, let's find some food."

They wandered a few blocks, until they stumbled upon a little building with a large oddly shaped sign next to it that said: Britta's Tacos. Based on the parasol tables outside and a lady passing delicious smelling bags out the window to people, this was most likely a food establishment.

"What's a taco?"

"No idea…"

After blind ordering two tacos and once again nearly getting away with paying in gold coins, they chose a table to eat at. It was apparent after receiving the food that a taco was not something that could be eaten with refinery. Moon tried and basically everything fell out the other end of the shell. Toffee had taken a bite from the middle and everything just crumbled. There was a brief pause between them, they took one look at each other's ridiculous attempts, and started uncontrollably laughing. The earthlings were staring and, despite Toffee's priority not to draw attention to themselves, he refused to stop laughing. At least, until someone decided to interrupt them.

"Sick costumes!" a voice had remarked from behind Toffee. He turned to find a scruffy lad, probably around the same age as Moon. On this mystical night of fantasy, he'd chosen to wear a red and green striped sweater and attach a bunch of forks to one of his hands. His face looked like it had been scratched to death by a cat and then burned in a vat of hot grease.

"Our costumes are not ill in anyway. That doesn't make any sense, strange child." Toffee replied, coldly.

"It's a saying. Sorry, I assumed you guys were teens." the boy claimed, eyeing them both a little more closely than before. There was no way they could be adults, yet not understanding modern teen slang did raise a couple of flags.

"We are! Just your local normal teenagers." Moon shouted, with a far too nervous laugh not to be suspicious.

"You guys go to Echo Creek Academy?"

"Of course, we do."

"Huh, you'd think I'd notice a girl with blue hair. Well, I'm Josh. Nice to meet you." the boy added, extending his fork-less hand out towards them. They both stared at it, not sure what he was trying to do and he withdrew it after an awkward moment of silence. "So, you also heading to the dance after this?"

"Yes." Moon answered, immediately. She was continuing on going with the flow, even though she was very lost in the conversation and had no idea what she was agreeing to.

"Awesome. You can catch a ride over with us, if you want too. We've got some extra space in the back." Josh grinned, pointing over his shoulder at a parked pick-up truck in the parking lot. A girl with a witch's hat was already in the passenger seat, hanging her legs out the window and looking at them impatiently.

"That'd be great." Moon accepted. Josh helped them clean up their mostly uneaten trays and loaded them into the back of the truck about five minutes later. Toffee had read about earth vehicles before, so he was more intrigued then surprised, watching Josh as he started the car. Meanwhile, Moon was excitable and already had her head hanging haphazardly out the side, like an excitable dog would.

"Do you even know what 'the dance' is?" Toffee whispered, pulling Moon down beside him, as the car zoomed into motion and down the road.

"No, but it sounds like a wicked séance, or something. I think we should do it." Moon bubbled, excitedly.

"Waking the dead is not a good first date idea." he bargained, with a small smile. She shrugged off Toffee's objections and settled comfortably on his shoulder for the ride ahead.

They stopped around ten minutes later in front of a sad looking building. A couple of the front windows were broken and there was a strange statue of a creature that looked like a really fuzzy rat on the lawn. Other teenagers appeared to be walking into the building with buzzing excitement about 'the dance'.

"Weird place for a séance." Moon remarked, as she and Toffee jumped out the back of the truck.

"I think it might be an old prison, or a rundown asylum." Toffee added, taking in the building's musty appearance and poor architecture.

"Cool!"

"High school dances are lame, Josh. Why are we here?" the girl who had been sitting in the front complained, refusing to remove herself from the car and join everyone else.

"Aw, come on. They aren't so bad." he reasoned. "Look, they still haven't fixed the windows you broke earlier. I'm sure you can get away with spiking the punchbowl no problem."

She removed herself at the prospect of causing mischief and they joined the crowd that was going inside, leaving Moon and Toffee alone on the curb.

"It's a high school! I read about these. Earthlings are all educated together in these, instead of privately." Moon explained, with even more excitement than when she thought they'd joined a supernatural séance. From what she'd read on earth, going to high school was the main focal point of being a normal teenager there. Although, she'd never get the chance to attend one herself, this was the perfect opportunity to see one in real life. "This is awesome, Toffee. We have to go inside."

"Alright, Moon. Let's go see what's going on." Toffee agreed. It wasn't one of his main interests about earth life, but he was a little curious on the educational system they had on earth. They joined the crowd of costumes unnoticed and followed the flow to a dimly lit, large room, with a glossy wooden floor. It was decorated similar to the rest of the town, with orange and black streamers and pumpkins everywhere. In the middle was a dance floor, where everyone seemed to be dancing in synchronization to what sounded like a really spooky audiobook being played over someone singing. There was also a snack table with many earth treats, including Toffee's favorite, popcorn, and a bowl of bright red liquid. Based on the fact their witchy friend was already inching near it, Toffee could only assume it was the punchbowl. Hopefully, someone would be able to punch it, before she put spikes in it.

"Oh, it's like a ball." Moon pointed out, after taking in the surroundings.

"I think it's better." Toffee smiled, his gaze sticking on the dancing mass that'd formed in the middle of the room. "I know they're all earthlings on the inside, but it's nice to see monsters being celebrated for once."

Moon was about to reply, when suddenly the song that was playing faded out and was drowned out by evil laughter. It appeared to be a part of the song, considering no one was freaking out at the fact the speakers were suddenly cackling. Once it had subsided, a new, even louder song quickly started up immediately after,

" _Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth? Ooh, heaven is a place on earth—"_

"What on earth is this music?" Toffee sneered, noticing the upbeat tempo and finding it displeasing to his normal classical taste.

"I don't know, but I like it." Moon added, bopping her head to the beat of the song. Even the Bounce Lounge didn't have music with such a unique sound. It was clearly something exclusive to earth. "Come on already! Let's dance!"

She pulled him onto the dancefloor and they began to swirl with the rhythm, along with a few other couples and groups. It was slightly too fast to slow dance. Moon attempted to adapt, emulate what she saw the others doing, and they ended up in an odd mixed jig. It was impossible not to get swept away in the joyful moment. Mewni had faded to just a distant memory and Toffee was suddenly able to judge how he felt about Moon with perfect clarity.

"I could get used to this…" Toffee grinned, getting caught up in her charms and once again dropping every notion of this being a last hurrah. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to dance with Moon since her first ball.

"If you still plan on saying goodbye—"

"I won't be saying goodbye. Not now, not ever." he found himself saying, abruptly. Toffee was done trying to talk himself out from being in love. It had happened and they couldn't do anything to stop it now. "It might be a bad idea, I don't believe I care about the consequences anymore. You've won me over, Moon."

"Really?!" she gaped, in amazement. Naturally, knowing of Toffee's iron will and inability to make poor decisions, Moon was not expecting to have actually changed his mind with this date.

"Really."

He leaned in and kissed her, to assure her that she was exactly what he wanted. No one around them stared, or cared, or judged. They were just two people caught up in a wave of love. In that glorious shining moment, heaven really was a place on earth.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Long Live the Queen

It was a surprise, but Toffee and Moon's new relationship was as easily concealed as their friendship was. They were able to hide it for months. Although, not a lot changed going from best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. Toffee still went through his daily reports with the king and queen and had secret rendezvous with Moon in her room later. They weren't allowed outside, but they still managed to have an enjoyable time. It didn't really matter they couldn't go anywhere. They were just happy to be together and that was all that mattered at the moment.

It was almost February in Mewni and the whole kingdom was covered in a deep blanket of snow. The royal gardens were vacant and untouched from their brief dead, ugly appearance, which ensured two lovers meeting there that they would not be seen by anyone.

"Why'd you want to meet me in the garden today? I thought even garden walks were risky." Moon questioned, upon her arrival. Toffee was wrapped up in a heavy cloak and any other article of clothing he could find to protect him from the cold. He did not do cold weather well, yet had insisted meeting Moon outside that day.

"You worry too much, Moon." Toffee exclaimed, sarcastically. She looked at him and his adorable smugness, until he admitted the real reason he brought her out there. "Alright, I may have had ulterior motives for taking you outside. There's a surprise waiting in your room."

"Is it a dead bird?" she asked, jokingly, as if he were a feral cat.

"You'll see have to go see for yourself." he replied, mischievously. Moon ran hastily back towards the castle doors, without warning. "I didn't mean right now! _Wait a minute_."

Toffee chased after her, but Moon had gotten too much of a head start. Also, she had a magical boost from her wand that jetted her forward. When Moon burst the door of her room open, she instantly saw there was something new sitting on her bed. A little creature with purple fur and pink cloven hooves was chewing on her bed sheets. He addressed her presence with his dark red eyes for a second, before continuing with his meal. Moon shrieked with delight and ran to hug the precious babe. Toffee appeared in the doorway, out-of-breath, and begun shedding his many layers so he would not suffocate.

"A pig-goat! Is he for me?" Moon exclaimed, squishing the cheeks of the creature with delight. She'd always wanted one, but her parents did not think pig-goats were a proper pet. They were dirty and rolled around in mud. It was one of the only things in her pampered life she'd asked for and had never received.

"Of course! I didn't just put a pig-goat in your room for no reason." Toffee stated, finally regaining his composure and the ability to breath properly.

"What's the occasion then?" she asked, even though she already knew quite well.

"I believe it's one of our anniversaries." he answered, closing the door so they had a little more privacy.

"You remembered!"

"You've been dropping hints every other day. It was impossible not to remember."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Moon beamed, excitedly, releasing the pig-goat to hug Toffee. "I think I'll name him Lil' Chauncey because he kind of reminds me of the Chancellor."

"They look nothing—"

" _Moon, are you in there?"_

It wasn't Moon's maid, who was one of the few who knew of her and Toffee's torrid affair, but her mother. The queen hardly ever came to see Moon, usually she was called to her parent's audience. Although, she was curious as to the occasion for this visit, Moon was more concerned of the fact she was alone with Toffee in her room. Also, had a pig-goat just nonchalantly lying on her bed. Her mother would have a heart attack if she saw any of this.

"Oh no…Quickly!" Moon gasped, in a hushed whisper. She retrieved her dimensional scissors from her desk drawer, tore a portal, and shoved Toffee through without hesitation. However, after realizing she had no idea where she sent him and wouldn't have a way to get him back, jumped through the portal herself.

Toffee didn't travel far. It turns out Moon had kept him in Butterfly castle and just sent him to a different room. However, he could not begin to figure out which of the hundred rooms she'd sent him to. It was not like he'd had the opportunity to go through all of them. Moon skidded out of the portal behind him, before Toffee was even able to take in his surroundings.

"Where are we?" Toffee asked, assuming she knew. He looked around more and found they were not alone. Queen Willow stared down at them, as well as Queen Solaria, and Queen Celena. They were in a large circular room surrounded by the symbols of the Butterfly family from the painting on the doors, to the carvings on the ceiling.

"Woah! I think we're in the grandma room!" she gaped, taking in the surroundings with a new sense of exhilarated excitement.

"What's the grandma room?" he questioned, curiously.

"It holds the tapestries of all the past queens of Mewni. My mom told me about it. I'm not really allowed in, till I become queen myself." Moon explained, looking around with piqued interest. "See, there's Celena and Solaria and—"

She stopped at the picture of a queen with poofy dark green hair, a giant feathered sunhat, and bright red spades emblazoned on her round cheeks. Her eyes were piercing and, even in a picture, she gave off the intimidating presence of a powerful queen.

"That's odd. I don't recognize her." Moon reported, examining the queen's face with more intensity, trying to see if it would ring any bells. "We did go over all the former queens of Mewni, didn't we, Toffee?"

"Yes, I remember spending a good two weeks on them. I can't recall her either..." Toffee added. It made a little sense that Moon could not remember. It was not as important to focus on the other queens as it was to work on herself as a future queen. However, for Toffee, the mystery queen concerned him gravely. His knowledge of the history of Mewni was exemplary. He approached the tapestry and a triangular stone tablet raised from the ground. It glowed purple and Toffee read the name of the mystery queen upon it. "Eclipsa, Queen of Darkness…I think I've heard Glossaryck mention her before."

"And my aunt, when we played Flags. She was comparing us to an Eclipsa, remember? She obviously meant her." Moon speculated. While Toffee had gone forward, Moon stepped back. Upon stepping back and examining the piece as a whole, she saw that Queen Eclipsa was not perched on a thick tree branch, but on the muscular arm of a three-eyed monster with a taut, wicked grin.

"I can see why…" Toffee remarked, continuing on with the rest of the words inscribed on the stone tablet, " _Eclipsa Queen of Mewni to a Mewmen King was wed, but took a monster for her love, and away from Mewni fled._ "

"She ran away from Mewni to be with a monster..."

"When Glossaryck said scandal, he wasn't kidding. No wonder the kingdom has blasted her out of history."

"I can't believe Glossaryck knew about her all this time and didn't tell me! He knows about us." Moon snapped, glaring at the little image of Glossaryck hovering at Eclipsa's side. Although, Toffee held most of the concern about their relationship, she still had her worries. She'd confided in Glossaryck and, in return, he gave no opinion on the matter, as he always did. According to him, Moon was allowed to live by her own rules. But, that was clearly not the case.

"You know how he is, though. He was probably sworn to secrecy ages ago." Toffee reasoned.

"They'd sooner chase me away from Mewni, then let me be with you..." she mumbled, quietly. As much as Moon wanted to believe that, if she went public with her relationship with a monster, everyone would understand, Eclipsa was a clear example that no one would ever allow it to happen. "Let's run away too!"

"Moon—"

"I'm serious, Toffee. You were right all along. There's no place for us here." Moon cried, hysterically. "We've got to get out of here, before they find out."

"This room, maybe, but the entire kingdom. That's insane. Where would we go?"

"Wherever she went. _Glossaryck!_ "

She whistled with her fingers and the spellbook zoomed down through the star shaped skylight. It rolled onto the ground and Glossaryck tumbled out.

"What're you doing in here, Moon?" Glossaryck asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"We accidently broke in." Moon answered.

"I see." Glossaryck acknowledged. He looked to Moon, then towards Toffee and the glowing stone of the dark queen. "So, you've met your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandma. Perfect. There goes my head."

"What happened to her? Where did she go to escape Mewni?" Moon inquired.

"She didn't escape."

"Did they kill her?"

"No." Glossaryck stated, trying to give them as little information as he could. However, it was clear that his simple answer would suffice and it was too late to hold back their need for information. He held out his hand, gesturing for Moon's scissors, "Here, it'd probably be better if I showed you…"

"What about the secret?" Toffee added, clearly suspicious on how fast he'd turned over.

"Well, it's out now. Might as well keep rolling with it. Come on!"

Glossaryck cut them a new portal and they were taken to another dimension. The new dimension was shiny, covered head-to-toe in iridescent crystals. Glossaryck began to lead them up a long set of stairs in the middle of the crystal maze, while Moon and Toffee took in more of their surroundings. Moon though there was something eerily familiar about the dimension. Then, she suddenly saw a sharp-toothed monster, bound to attack her. She drew her wand, but soon realized the monster was also enclosed in the crystal seconds later.

"This is Rhombulus' work." she gasped, realizing who had a similar power and motive to encase the forces of evil in crystal.

"Rhombulus and the Chancellor shouldn't be back for a while, but we still ought to be hasty." Glossaryck added. He suddenly stopped at a particular section of crystals and pointed to one in particular. If Glossaryck hadn't pointed her out, Moon and Toffee probably would've never seen her. The woman they'd seen in the tapestry was buried amongst the monsters, looking minutely harmless in comparison. She didn't even look like she put up a fight, with her arms posed out, like a fancy porcelain doll. "There, she is. The former queen lives, but frozen in crystal for all eternity."

"Why did they do that? They should have just killed her and saved themselves from a possible catastrophe down the road." Toffee noted, sensibly. "If she somehow ever manages to escape, Mewni will have a real problem."

"They can't kill her. It's not possible anymore." Glossaryck stated, not taking his eyes off Eclipsa to address Toffee. He was fixed on her with an unnerving intensity, as if he was afraid she'd start moving if he looked away for just one second. "She'd always been a disturbed little princess. But, after she met her monster lover, she began playing with darker magic, leading to her most powerful discovery. Immortality…"

"My mom said nothing is immortal. Immortality is something countless magic users have tried for centuries, but none have ever managed to cheat death. It's impossible." Moon added.

"Look, I saw it with my own eyes. She's created a way."

"What is it?" Toffee asked, maybe a bit too eagerly. It was obviously an incredible discovery the dark queen had made. Why was she not being celebrated for such an accomplishment? A discovery like this could make Mewni even greater than it already was.

"I'm not about to tell you. I wasn't even supposed to tell Moon about Eclipsa, until she came of age and ascended the throne." Glossaryck said, dodging Toffee's question. "You've seen why this thing going on between you is dangerous and, I'm not going to tell you to stop, just bare this all in mind. I really don't want to have to go through this again…"

They said nothing. What possibly could be said of yet another reason they should not be together, that hadn't already been said? Regardless of the new risks and discovery of Eclipsa, Toffee held onto Moon's hand as they descended the stairs behind Glossaryck. He ripped another portal for them to leave through. Toffee was right about to walk through, together with Moon, when suddenly a voice pierced him.

" _You really want to know my methods? I can tell you, Toffee…"_

"Moon, did you say something?" Toffee questioned. The voice had sounded a lot like Moon, however, it didn't really sound like something she'd say.

"No." Moon replied, looking at him oddly. Why would he think she had said something? She hadn't even opened her mouth.

"I could've swore—"

"Hold it right there!" another more familiar voice barked from behind them. They did not even turn back to see that Rhombulus had returned. However, Toffee and Moon were through the portal and back in the grandma room before he could even recognize their figures.

"That was a close one…" Moon breathed, in a brief moment of relief. However, brief was an understatement of how short this peace would last.

"I'll say." a fourth voice had added, in Toffee's place. Queen Willow Butterfly had appeared out of the shadows, glaring at them with outrage.

"Mom!"

"Where have you three been? Answer me quickly and don't even think about lying!" she shouted, impatiently.

"We went to see Eclipsa. I made Glossaryck take us there." Moon replied, obediently. It was not necessarily the truth, but she knew it would divert her mother's anger towards her, rather than lashing out at Toffee and Glossaryck.

"I should've expected you'd find out sooner or later, considering you and Toffee's relationship..."

"You've known?" Moon questioned. Her mother had made no notion of ever knowing of their bond before.

"Of course, I've known, Moon. I'm not as blind as your father to these things." the queen argued. "You think I didn't watch you two playing Flags together, or notice you both disappear on Song Day. I would've been a fool not to expect something was going on."

"We've been hiding it pretty well."

"No, you haven't, sweetie. I just found a pile of men's clothes outside your room. No, you haven't."

"If you've always known, why haven't you ever done anything?"

"I didn't have concrete proof." Queen Willow claimed. Although, Moon expected it was something different. She didn't think it was going to last. It would just be another phase in Moon's rebellious life and it would soon pass. "Glossaryck, escort Moon back to her room. Toffee and I have much to discuss."

Moon and Glossaryck obeyed without much choice. As for going back to Moon's room, they allowed themselves to break that so they could spy from outside. Unfortunately, the queen cast an anti-spying spell over the room, so even her massive stentorian yells would not be heard by anyone else but Toffee.

"Queen, I am—"

"Save your breath, monster." Queen Willow seethed, in even more vicious anger. "I let you into my home, I gave you responsibility and duty, a chance to fix what was broken between our races, and this is how you repay all my generosity. The king and I trusted you, Toffee."

"I know. I can't make any excuses for my actions, but you should know how deeply I care about Moon." Toffee claimed, earnestly. However, the queen would not be swayed so easily.

"You can't care for anyone, but yourself. Whatever you think you feel for my daughter is false. A creature like you cannot possibly love." Queen Willow sneered, cruelly. "Toffee of Septarsis, you are hereby stripped of your title and permanently banned from Mewni. I want you out of my kingdom immedietly."

"No, please! You can't do this." he begged, desperately sinking down to the ground. Without Moon and his position in the castle, he had absolutely nothing. All the hard work he'd put into keeping peace between the monsters and the Mewman over the years would be gone, just like that. He'd never see the only person who could ever love him again. Moon would be forced to go on without him and, without any prospects, he'd slowly wither away into the filth he was born from.

"Be lucky I'm not having you encased in crystal too, or calling war upon your entire race, for this type of treachery." the queen snapped, shaking him off the hem of her gown. "Now, get out of my sight, before I call the guards."

The large doors opened and only Toffee exited, dazed and numb. Moon rushed to him immedietly. However, he still did not shake from his lifeless gaze at her approach.

"Toffee, what did she say? Is everything alright?" she asked, innocently, not knowing what catastrophe had just happened. He had no heart to tell her such a horrible thing. Toffee merely wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Do not forget me."

"What do you mean? Where are you going? _Toffee!_ " she questioned, rapidly as he released her and continued to run away. Moon screamed after him, but he didn't look back. Queen Willow exited the room soon after, looking too unperturbed by what was happening. "What have you done?"

"I did what I needed too."

It was vague, but still told Moon everything she needed to know. She looked horrified at her mother. How could she have done something so wretched? Moon ran back to her room, as fast as she could, to shut out such a cruel unfair world. The queen caught up several minutes later, giving Moon a little time to just cry it out.

"Moon, please let me in." Queen Willow pleaded, with a knock on the door. This was an expected reaction, but she had to do what she could to try and fix things between her and her daughter. "I know that you're upset, but I did it because I love you. Surely, you must know that."

Moon did not answer.

"It was for both of your own good. They executed Eclipsa's lover. Would you really have wanted Toffee dead, rather than banished?" the queen reasoned, hopelessly. It may not have seemed like it after what she'd just done, but she really did like Toffee. She might've seen how happy he made Moon and kept quiet till the last possible second. She didn't want to burst their bubble of happiness, until she had to.

"No! I would've rather these stupid laws be changed and have you let me be in love with whoever I want to." Moon shrieked back, at her mother's feeble excuse.

"He didn't love you." Queen Willow stated, coldly. Although, she could not be certain of Toffee's true emotions, it was the message she needed to instill in her daughter. She would move on from him eventually, if she just kept telling her that it was not in a monster's biology to have such an emotion. The evidence disproving this ideal would soon fade and Moon would realize she only felt this way was because Toffee pretended he was a Mewman. "I hope you'll realize that one day."

Toffee was back home in Septarsis, mindlessly chugging down swamp water without much purpose. He had no future except a grim one at the end of the bottle. Might as well start early. This was not imagined his life ending, after all he had built for himself. He was to die reckless, worthless, and dumb. He sunk his face into a pillow and gave up even drinking. Nothing was left.

Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Toffee looked up to see a woman with familiar red spades was staring back at him.

"Hiya, handsome." she grinned, confidently. She sounded so much like Moon it physically hurt him. "I'm Queen Eclipsa. Nice to meet ya'."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Off with Her Head

"Too much. I've clearly had too much."

Toffee shut his eyes. She'd go away in a minute. It was a sick effect of drinking swamp water and the fact he'd just seen Eclipsa's frozen body a few hours ago. There was no possible way she could be standing in his room. However, her voice rung clear to his mental objections of her presence.

"I'm not a hallucination. I'm using up my magic reserves to send a projection of myself here." she snapped, in an angry huff. "You should be grateful! It's not easy."

"Why me?" Toffee questioned, re-opening his eyes and sitting up to face her. Out of all the things she could've done with such great power, why had she chosen to waste it on him?

"I saw you with my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter when you came by to visit me earlier. Glossaryck can be such a downer, he didn't even let me say hello." Eclipsa explained. Toffee suddenly realized why Glossaryck refused to keep his eyes off her. He was suppressing her magic and preventing her making contact with them. "It was still great to see you both. Moon is so much like me. I can't wait to see her again."

"You won't ever get to. You're never getting out of that crystal."

"I won't be there forever, dear. I hope to be out real soon."

"If you think I'm going to help you break out, you've come to the wrong monster."

"I didn't come here for your help." she claimed. However, there was a tick in her expression that seemed very insulted by the fact Toffee had just flat out told her no. As a queen, it was not something she was so used to hearing. "Why are you continuing on with loyalty to a kingdom that will never accept you, anyway? If I was asking for your help, you should be honored to help me! I fought for equality."

"You fought for yourself, using some pretty iffy methods, and ended up imprisoned for life." Toffee rebutted. "I may have sunk low, but I refuse to go any lower."

"My, my, you certainly weren't in this state a few hours ago. Something dreadful has happened, hasn't it?" Eclipsa laughed, cruelly. Toffee tried to hold onto his anger, but the cruel laugh with Moon's inflection stung him too badly. He cringed a little in agony. "Let me guess, they found out about you and my darling granddaughter and took care of it, before she could end up like me."

"It happened. Nothing can be done." Toffee stated, flatly.

"Well, of course something can be done. Why do you think I'm here?"

"To torment me?"

"Don't be silly. I've come to help you." she insisted, although nothing she'd said had verified that was her intention all along.

"How do you expect to do that?" he questioned, with high doubts that she could accomplish such a thing. Eclipsa smiled in a wicked way Toffee could tell had no good intentions. She had obviously been waiting for him to ask.

"I'm going to give you my secret to immortality." Eclipsa revealed.

"How would that help me at all? It would just make this already wretchedly long life of mine stretch on for eternity." Toffee muttered, grimly.

"Don't you understand? If they cannot kill you, there is little they can do to stop you from taking what you want." she elaborated, with growing excitement and passion. "It's all about power, Toffee. Why do you think the Butterflies have ruled Mewni for thousands of years?"

"I don't have magic like the Butterfly's though. I've got muscles and the ability to regrow limbs, but that's basically it."

"Magic is great because you don't always have to be born with it to use it. In your case, all you need is a wand."

"Why do I have the feeling you mean one wand in particular." Toffee mumbled. He looked back at her fiercely, making sure she would hear him and really listen to what he was about to say. "I won't steal Moon's wand."

"I don't want you to steal it." she added. "I want you to convince her to destroy it."

"What?" he gasped, with genuine surprise. The wand was a Butterfly heirloom and had been around since the first queen used it to win the Monster War. Eclipsa herself was one of the previous owners. Why would she want the wand destroyed?

"There is a spell to extinguish the wand called the Whispering Spell. It's the first spell a princess must learn when inheriting the wand." Eclipsa explained. "Once the wand is destroyed, you can absorb the magic inside it. Moon won't need it in the future anyway. The wand is just a training tool for her."

"Regardless, I could never ask Moon to destroy her wand." Toffee reiterated. Although, sometimes he felt a slight rage towards the wand and its actions under former queens, he did not want to take it from Moon. She'd never said it out loud, but Toffee knew it meant a great deal to her that her parents had trusted her with such a responsibility.

"Then, there's the grim alternative."

"I'm afraid to even ask…"

"You're going to need to kill the queen." she bargained, far to lighthearted for what she was suggesting. "She's got the most powerful magic in the kingdom, next to your princess, and I really don't think you're about to kill Moon—"

"Are you crazy?! I'm not going to resort to murder either." he snapped, defensively. At this point, Toffee didn't know why he was still listening. He just wanted her out. But, unfortunately, he didn't know how he'd go about getting rid of her.

"Crazy? I don't think I'm being crazy." Eclipsa said, innocently. Toffee stared blankly at her, silently wondering if she was expecting him to believe her. "Don't look at me like that. She ruined your life. You want her dead."

"I do not!"

"You want to bite her head off. I can see it in your eyes. Don't deny your urges!"

"Stop it!"

"Trust me, Moon wouldn't blame you. Her mother has never been a real mother and, after something like this, do you really think she could ever come to forgive her?" Eclipsa reasoned. Toffee couldn't argue that fact. He'd never once seen Moon's mother act endearing in anyway and, out of all the talking they'd done over the years, Moon talked of her the least. Maids read her books to sleep and helped her get ready for big life events. Toffee and Glossaryck schooled her. Queen Willow was a terrible mother and King Juniper, as kind-hearted a man he was, didn't help much either. They were a pair Toffee suspected he would have no choice but to kill together, if he was to follow Eclipsa's plan. "This is the answer, Toffee! You'll be king of Mewni forever, with Moon at your side. The Monsters and the Mewmans can finally live in harmony. This one act of villainy is all for the greater good."

Toffee was quiet. What could he say? She actually had a point to her crazy. Mewni would be a far better place with people like him and Moon in charge. Toffee had groomed her into the perfect queen, but with their separation came the chance to brainwash her back to the girl she was when they first met. It had taken two years to get her this way and there were still two more left, until she became queen. If they ended up sending her to St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses, they'd change her back in no time at all. He wanted to say no to Eclipsa, but there was too much to risk and he was desperate.

"Fine. If you really don't want my help, sit here and wallow for the rest of your life." Eclipsa huffed. She was finally leaving. It was what Toffee had wanted from the start, but as she began to fade away an ugly little part of him called out,

"Wait!" Eclipsa stopped fading. Her back still turned to Toffee, concealing an enormous victorious smile. She had won. Although, the lizard could not free Eclipsa, she now held the key to controlling Moon. The helpless, little, lovestruck girl would free the dark queen, whether she wanted to or not. "Help me..."

" _It's a deal."_

Then, Toffee disappeared. No one knew where or why. One day he was there and the next he had vanished into the darkness. Rumors flew around Mewni of Toffee's banishment. Nobody connected him to an affair with the crowned princess, but the exile of such a public figure was bound to make headlines for at least a few weeks. Then, for their last article, they spun a tragic tale of how Toffee was so aggrieved he must have taken his own life. The small buzz quickly died. Of course, no one really cared about Toffee's absence, except for Moon. But, unfortunately, she was too busy having disappeared herself. The crowned princess was absent from Mewni for a whole month. No events or festivals. The public didn't really notice, but her friends from her other life noticed something was not right. They became increasingly worried about the lack of contact and the carousel of half-assed excuses that the queen gave them. Finally, they sent in a representative to scope it out. Heckapoo visited the castle to try and find out what had happened to Moon, even if it was just to hear a variety of lies spat in her face.

"Is Princess Moon in today?" Heckapoo asked, for what seemed like the billionth time. It was her fifth visit to the castle that week and she was lucky enough to catch the queen off guard by the entrance.

"I'm afraid not." Queen Willow replied, once again.

"Really? I haven't seen her in over a month—"

"She's had to go off to St. Olga's. It's only a temporary visit to see her cousin. She'll be back in a week or so." the queen announced, with a smile. The smile was definitely suspicious, but could not be questioned only due to the fact she was queen.

"I see…"

Heckapoo curtseyed politely to excuse herself, before exiting back out of the castle. However, she was not giving up. She cut herself a portal and landed in the poshest prison anyone could ever hope to be sent to. Thankfully, the school was new and a method had not been invented yet to stop the use of Heckapoo's scissors. However, despite the immaculate rooms, all the princesses kept there were still screaming for their release. She could hear them from the barred window in the wooden door along with zaps of lightening magic, trying to silence them. Moon was not screaming, even though one of her best friends had literally cut a portal into her room. She was sitting at a vanity with dead eyes, mindlessly brushing her long blue hair.

"Temporary, my butt! This is a full-on lock down." Heckapoo scoffed, gazing out the large windows at the stone barrier and guards walking its perimeter. Her friend finally acknowledged her, but not with an embrace, or even an excited expression. "Moon, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You look like a proper mess." Heckapoo reasoned. "Why'd your parents send you here?"

"They didn't send me here. I wanted to go." Moon insisted, dully.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that." Heckapoo stated, flatly. When she'd once asked of Moon's opinion on the new school, Moon had reported that it sounded like a dreadful place and, if her parents ever tried sending her there, she'd drop the chandelier on them. "Why didn't you just call me, or River, or my brother? We would've bust you out in a heartbeat. Toffee definitely could've used some of his influence—"

"Don't mention him. I don't ever want to hear that name." Moon said, with a little more grit in her tone. Based on her small return from a lifeless doll at the mention of Toffee, it was suddenly clear why she'd come here so willingly.

"Ugh, I hate it when Lucifer is right." Heckapoo groaned. "He told me you guys started dating and I didn't believe him because I thought you would've told me. You should've told me, Moon!"

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's gone. Mother banished him and then he disappeared."

"You're overacting, Moon." Heckapoo assured her. "He may have dropped off the face of Mewni, without any choice, but I'm sure he's busy in Septarsis. You know how he gets."

"Go check Septarsis, then. I know he's not there. He would've found me and rescued me from this awful place." Moon shouted. "I thought he'd fight for me, but he just gave up."

"I'm sure he didn't give up. Toffee never gives up."

"There's a first time for everything." Moon scoffed. "Maybe my mother was right after all. Maybe he never really did love me."

"Alright, first off, we're going to get you out of here. This place is clearly messing with your brain. Then, we're going to go find Toffee and punch him in his big snout." Heckapoo snapped, clearly fed up with this sad new Moon. She tore a new portal, but Moon did not burst into action at the escape plan. "Come on, Moon. Get your stuff and let's get out of here."

"The headmistress has my wand hostage, which means I must be checked out by my parents to get it back." Moon replied, diligently. Heckapoo sighed at her resilience to stay there, however, Moon smiled a little. "I've been on good behavior, so she should let me call them and have me released in a few hours."

"I'll start the search for then and tell the crew you're alright." Heckapoo sighed, in relief.

"How about you meet me back at the castle at five?" Moon proposed. Heckapoo nodded in agreement. She was just about to walk through her portal, when Moon snapped fully back to reality. "—Wait!"

Moon ran to hug her remaining bestie. It meant a lot that someone had come to find her, even if it was not Toffee.

"Thanks for coming to rescue me, Heckapoo."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad you're okay."

Luckily, Moon was released without any issues and she was back in her own room in no time at all. Her mother probably would've kept her in there, but her father was still clueless as to why she'd been sent in the first place and welcomed her release. Moon spent the next few hours waiting until Heckapoo arrived, trying a variety of things to feel at home again. She took a bath, lounged around reading her favorite books, had a nice cup of tea. However, the feeling had gone. Everything was just as she remembered, but for some reason she couldn't make it feel like home. It was a little past six when Moon started to wonder what kept Heckapoo. She was running extremely late. However, it was somewhat explained by a suspicious letter that had appeared on Moon's bed when she arrived back from dinner.

 _Royal Gardens. 10 o' clock. Tonight._

"I wonder why she changed the time…"

Regardless of how peculiar she found Heckapoo's letter, Moon obeyed and stayed put for a few more hours. When it was almost time, she wrapped a cloak around her and snuck out the servant's entrance for the gardens. They were starting to come back to life from the dead of winter. It was insanely hard not to think of Toffee here. Playfully hiding from him in trees and having lessons in the bright sunlight. The last time she'd been there was with Toffee. Unlike, in the castle, where she'd been so numbed up that it was rather easy to keep him out of her thoughts. They swirled so much they became a real gust of wind. A vision of Toffee appeared from the darkness, wrapped in far too little to possibly been real. She was about to pass it off as just mental trickery, but he wasn't going away. He called out to her. Moon walked closer to the apparition and put her hand on his cheek. It was extremely cold, but it was real.

"Toffee! It's really you!" she gasped, immedietly embracing him in a tight hug.

"Moon, I've missed you so much..." he smiled back, thankfully sounding just as relieved she had.

"Heckapoo found you, did she?"

"Hmm— oh. Yes, Heckapoo found me…" Toffee replied. He seemed a little distracted and, now that Moon had the opportunity to look at him closer, looked tremendously tired. It was different from his usual work stress. She was about to question it, when he interrupted her with his grand news. Their separation would soon be at an end. "I've come to make an appeal to your parents about my wrongful termination. They've accepted an audience with me in a few minutes."

"Really? Oh, thank goodness."

"Don't worry, my dear. I promise we'll be together real soon."

Toffee kissed her hand, bidding her farewell, as he made his way towards the castle. Moon wanted to follow him back up, considering she'd only gotten a few minutes with him, but didn't want to ruin his chances of being un-banished by showing her mother nothing had changed between them. So, she simply danced around in the gardens, humming a prematurely joyful tune. Everything was about to be right again. She was hopelessly lost in a whimsical world of her own and was only forcibly pulled out by a loud bang.

Moon gasped, drawing her wand, and quickly looked around for the source. She couldn't pinpoint where, but clearly heard a fight going down. Then, the queen's high shriek rung throughout the entire castle and Moon saw a bright green light suddenly emanating from the direction of the throne room. She ran.

"Mother? Father? Toffee!? Are you alright? What has—" Moon words got caught in her throat as she stumbled into the scene in the throne room. The grand polished room was in the shambles of an epic battle she'd missed. Tapestries were ripped and the chairs once occupied by her parents were knocked to the ground. The king and queen laid lifeless in the debris, bloody and broken. King Juniper's eyes closed, so he almost managed to look peaceful in his death. However, Queen Willow's eyes were gone and Moon was involuntarily forced to gaze her to look into the empty black void where they had once been. It was a horrible temporary solution, so she would not have to look at the only thing left standing and whole in the room. Even though she'd waited months to see him, Moon suddenly didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to believe he was the culprit of all this. However, had no choice. "Toffee, what've you done?"

"I've gotten rid of the only two things standing in our way." he replied, a touch of madness in is voice that didn't belong there. Toffee dove down to retrieve her mother's fallen crown and placed it on Moon's head. "You are the queen now and you make your own rules."

" _Lovesick Lightbeam!"_

A jet of sharp blue light sliced him across the cheek, creating a green gash. He stepped back from her looking bewildered.

"Why are you attacking me? I did this for us." Toffee protested, innocently. Something was wrong. This was not the Toffee that Moon remembered. The Toffee she knew would never do this to her. Yet there he was, standing over her parent's dead bodies, taking all the credit.

"What possibly could've made you think I'd want something like this!?" Moon cried. Toffee tried to approach her, but her eyes glowered at him in anger and she shot a quick spell at him. "Stay back, monster!"

"Moon!"

"Do not call my name!" she shouted, defiantly. "If you've finally made me a queen, then I will do my first duty and protect my kingdom."

She raised her wand to fight, but Toffee did not want to fight her, even though with Queen Willow's powers he could beat her easily. He still loved her. He'd done all this for a better future for everyone, including her. Why did she resist? It was not a real tragedy. Perhaps, it would be prudent to give her time and let the message sink in. Toffee retrieved a pair of recently stolen scissors from his waistband and cut open a portal.

"I've left Heckapoo dead, north of the gardens." Toffee added, knowing her dead friend would distract her for the second he needed to get away. Moon dropped her guard for a moment in shock, while Toffee hoisted the king and queen over his shoulders. "You can have her body, but your parents are coming with me. I can't risk you taking them to Lekmet."

"No!"

Moon ran for Toffee and the portal, but was just a second to late. It closed and he disappeared again, taking the king and queen with him.

 **This chapter is for Cas. A sick friend of mine who died yesterday. You were the only one I'd ever let watch me write in a million years and I already miss you dearly.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kill the Beast

" _What a tragedy. Who would've thought Sir Toffee would murder the king and queen and try to take over the kingdom?"_

" _Only everyone with more than half a brain. The royal family was foolish for trusting him from the start."_

" _Is there any news of the princess? I've heard whispers of war and she's far too young to lead an army."_

" _I can only assume she's the queen now. There's been no further news of her condition."_

" _Poor thing…"_

The whole kingdom was in a gossipy buzz after that dreadful night. They hardly mourned the loss, when there was so much more to think about. What would become of Mewni with the death of King Juniper and Queen Willow? Moon was thankfully exempt from hearing such disrespectful talk. She was shut up in the Butterfly castle, dealing with all the aftermath Toffee had left behind. She hadn't the time to be upset about what had happened. As much as she needed to just cry, Moon was expected to bottle up those feelings and be a leader. Even though she'd lost her parents. Even though she'd lost Toffee.

The Magic High Commission had to be assembled for a meeting about a week later to discuss the future of the kingdom and the inevitable hunting down of Toffee. It was obviously a meeting Moon was dreading attending, despite the fact her magic friends had officially joined the commission to aid her. Heckapoo was always fated to join when Moon ascended the throne, however, Rhombulus insisted on also joining to help her out. It was a sweet gesture, but even with her friends there for support, Moon doubted it would help her talk about the situation without wanting to break down in tears.

"Now, that we've all gathered. It's time to discuss what to do about Toffee." Heckapoo stated, on Moon's behalf. Being the only one who knew the truth, she knew to tread very lightly in the oncoming discussion.

"He's evil. He needs to be crystalized!" Rhombulus shouted at once, raising one of his snake fists righteously in the air.

"Rhombulus! You're being too hasty." Heckapoo snapped, harshly. "We don't know what's come over Toffee all a sudden. We can't just freeze him, before we know all the facts."

"What other facts do we need? He murdered the king, the queen, and _you_ , in cold blood. He's a stone-cold killer."

"Well—I—um…"

"It's alright, Heckapoo. I cannot pretend the betrayal of Toffee is a heavy blow towards Mewman and Monster relations and a personal attack towards me and my family. However, it is imperative we act, before he plans his next assault on Mewni." Moon stated, dutifully stepping in. She spoke with such clarity and conviction in her voice that for a moment she even fooled Heckapoo that she was truly undaunted by this horrible incident. "We must ki—"

She couldn't say it. Her voice immedietly left her. Even after everything, Moon couldn't admit the obvious course of action. Her feelings were still too jumbled to begin to figure out. She hated Toffee for what he'd done but couldn't completely snuff out the love she had for him. Moon got up and promptly ran for the door, unable to put on her strong façade of a leader any longer. She was about to crack.

Moon sunk down without her faults and defenses, praying no one would find her, yet not having run far enough away to not be found. She was allowed a couple minutes to cry and be the girl she truly felt inside. Helpless and heartbroken.

"We don't have to kill him, you know." a voice assured her. Heckapoo had come to Moon's aid and somehow managed to find her in one of the many secluded hallways of the castle.

"No, we have to. I know that. I know…" Moon insisted, even in tears. She wiped her eyes at once and attempted to compose herself once more. "I'm sorry. I'll pull myself together and return to the meeting."

"Moon, I want you to be the first to see this, before I have to show the commission. One of the guards found it at the entrance this morning…" Heckapoo added, suddenly, as Moon pulled herself back up. She pulled from her pocket a scroll tied with scarlet red ribbon. "It's from Toffee—"

"I don't want to hear anything he has to say." Moon huffed, bitterly. However, there was a small part that craved to hear his words. Would he apologize to her, or claim an angry demon had taken his form? The curiosity itched. What did he have to say?

"He's planning on storming the castle if you don't surrender the throne to him. He's going to start another Monster War."

"What?" Moon grabbed the scroll at once, untied it feverously, and began to read. It was a cruel messy scrawl that she could somehow still tell was Toffee's, even if it barely resembled his neat script. It said pretty much exactly as Heckapoo had said. "Why does he keep doing this? I don't understand…"

Moon tossed the scroll to the ground, with a frustrated grunt, and blasted it in a smoldering fury with her wand. She huffed a bit in anger-exerted energy, as she gazed at the smoking black mess she'd created, before coming back to her senses again. She soon became embarrassed at her display of rage, not knowing what had come over her all a sudden.

" _Moon! Wait—"_

She ran all the way to her room to hide, clearly no longer in a fit state to simply return to the meeting. The only short-term solution to cure such pent-up emotions was screaming into a pillow, which Moon did upon collapsing onto her bed. After a good minute scream, she just stuck there, not sure what she should do next. A cold breeze passed through her shoulders and a soothing voice suddenly was heard, cooing softly to her.

"There, there, my darling. Everything will be alright."

The voice sounded vaguely familiar and Moon was instantly comforted, despite the cold fact no one had entered her room. When she realized this terrifying detail, she jumped up immedietly.

"Mother—" However, the voice was different kind of ghost. Eclipsa Butterfly had casually entered. She was already quite at home for someone who was breaking and entering into someone else's mind. "Why are you here?"

"It's not a crime to visit your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter. I wanted to see how you're taking all this dreadfulness, you poor thing." Eclipsa replied. Unlike when she'd first talked to Toffee, she was blatantly trying to come off as a more sympathetic creature towards Moon. "I know how your feeling."

"What was your monster like?" Moon inquired, dropping any sort of suspicion she might've had. Her despair clouded the sensible judgement Toffee had once built up inside her. It was exactly what she had needed to hear. Heckapoo was trying her best, but Eclipsa was possibly the only other who might understand Moon's pain.

"Nothing like yours. He would've killed my hubby in a heartbeat, whether it'd make him the king, or not. Bloodshed was too easy for him."

"It looked pretty easy for Toffee."

"I'm sure that's not true. Woman bring out the beast in men. You should just be happy that you still live to love another day." Eclipsa added, in that same overly sweet and comforting tone. "I guarantee, you'll find someone better in the future."

"They say I need to destroy Toffee and I'm afraid I have no choice." Moon stated, woefully.

"It may seem unavoidable, but ultimately the choice _is_ yours. What do you want to do?" Eclipsa inquired, seemingly curious.

"I honestly don't know." Moon mumbled. "I don't have the strength to kill him, even if I wanted to, and freezing him will solve nothing."

"Well, in my humble opinion, I think he deserves death." Eclipsa admitted, boldly. Moon looked aghast. She'd thought Eclipsa had come here to sooth her worries not just tell her what everyone else was saying. "Something has tainted the love in his heart, and it will only continue to spiral out of control."

"How do I even kill someone like Toffee? He's extremely strong and regenerates faster than it takes to damage him in the first place. I know he doesn't have magic, but—"

"Oh, he's got magic, sweetheart. There's no doubt about that."

"How do you know that?" Moon asked, sounding a little suspicious.

"Just a hunch. I mean, why do you think he killed your parents? Out of mad love?" Eclipsa added, with only slight hesitation. She was almost able to effortlessly cover her tracks. Hopefully, Moon didn't press her any further. She couldn't have Moon knowing that she was the one who had led her monster off his own tracks. "It's plain to see that all he wanted was your mother's magic and your father was simply in the way."

"Why would he do this?" Moon asked again, as if anyone, but Toffee could possibly give her the right answer.

"I hate to tell you this, Moon, but monsters born with love are one in a billion." Eclipsa informed, not sounding the least bit sorry to impart such horrid news. "Odds are, he was playing you this entire time. He was getting close to your family, so he could strike and gain power for the monster race. He's been planning a war since the day you met."

"How do I stop him?" Moon mumbled. The question was mostly a distraction for the sting of burning rage she felt at Toffee. To think he might've been pretending all this time.

"I do know of one spell that might work against him, from my chapter of the spellbook. It'll just require a little dark magic—"

"Why can't I kill him with light magic? My mother always said it was the most powerful form of magic in the world." Moon remarked, uneasily. Her life had taken a dark turn for the worst, but she did not want to let the darkness envelope her. Then, she'd be no better than Toffee.

"Shows what she knows." Eclipsa scoffed. "He's absorbed the light magic from her body, so hitting him with more will only make him stronger. The only way to effectively stop him from absorbing more power is with dark magic."

"Glossaryck won't let me into your chapter of the spellbook, though. He says it's forbidden."

"I can open it up for you, no problem!"

"But you're trapped in Rhombulus's dimension, aren't you? You're not really here."

"You can bust me out, though. I mean, what's the real issue? You know they only imprisoned me for falling in love with a monster. I didn't do anything wrong." Eclipsa reasoned. However, she could sense Moon was still hesitant and had to counter more to her emotions. "Don't you want to have someone around who truly cares for you?"

Moon seriously considered her offer. She did have a point. Not only would she need Eclipsa's help to defeat Toffee, but she was desperate to have a caring mother figure to replace the one she'd lost. Although, Moon missed her real mother dearly, Eclipsa had helped her more in the past few minutes then Queen Willow ever had.

"Okay. I'll break you out."

"Excellent."

As Eclipsa faded away, Moon burst into action. She grabbed her cloak and went to retrieve the spellbook from the deepest vaults in the Butterfly castle. Normally, it would've been right on her desk. However, Heckapoo had suggested she keep the it locked up in case Toffee tried to steal it. Which seemed to be more likely now that she knew he had magic. She hastily made her way down spiral stone steps, in a blue orb of light illuminated by her wand, until she reached the bottom. Moon removed the heart of the wand and jiggled the rod in the lock, like a key. It clicked open a few moments later and she was greeted by Glossaryck's snoring.

"Out of the book, buddy! I need it." she stated, shaking Glossaryck onto the cold stone floor.

"Where are you going? It was on your order that the book stay here, till further notice." Glossaryck replied, drowsily.

"Well, then consider this further notice. The book and I have to go to grandma's house…"

"Your majesty—wait, where are you taking the spellbook? _Moon!_ "

Moon had cut her way to Rhombulus's dimension before she'd even made it halfway up the stone steps. In seconds, she was on the crystal flight of stairs, presented before the Queen of Darkness. She searched the perimeter for Rhombulus and the Chancellor. They were probably still at the meeting, listening to Heckapoo stall for time in her absence. Moon wasted no time melting the crystal around Eclipsa. However, made it a point to only release her upper half and leave her waist downwards still trapped. She wanted to make sure she could trust Eclipsa before releasing her fully. It only took a second for Eclipsa to reanimate back to life. She yawned, shook out her green curls, and stared at Moon, in bafflement. The foolish girl had really done it. However, upon trying to take her first step forward, she realized the job was only half done.

"Moon, what're you doing? Not to be too selfish, but I kind of would like to have feeling in my legs after a few centuries." Eclipsa laughed, trying to be lighthearted.

"I want your word first." Moon bargained.

"I already told you. I was innocent—"

"Then, give me your word and unlock the chapter."

"Very well. Give me your hand." Eclipsa sighed, removing her one of the gloves off her hands.

"You swear to unlock the chapter if I release you." Moon stated, grasping Eclipsa's hand. The moment they touched, both of their hands became enveloped in a black, ink-like substance. Then, it wrapped their arms up in dark ribbons, tying them together. Moon tried to remove her hand, but Eclipsa gripped it tighter.

"Yes. It's a deal—"

A flurry of sharp crystals shot at their wrists and their intertwined hands immedietly broke apart. Rhombulus and the Chancellor came rushing through a new portal and saw her and the half-free Eclipsa.

"Queen Moon stand back! You can't trust her!" Rhombulus shouted. "I know that I'm really hasty at crystalizing people I think are evil. But, if there was anyone who I'm certain _is_ pure evil, it's that witch."

"Stupid blockhead!" Eclipsa shrieked, trying to remove the rest of her body so she could fight. However, Rhombulus jumped up the stairs and placed his hands on the melted crystal. Slowly, the crystal began to reform around her. Eclipsa groaned in frustration. She'd been so close. Before her head was about to freeze over again and she'd lose the power of speech, she turned back towards Moon, "Our agreement still stands, Moon. You will release me one day! No one goes back on deals with me…"

Despite her vicious tone, as the crystal fully formed around her, Eclipsa was soon left with the same soft demure expression she'd had before. The only thing different was the raised arm and blackened ungloved hand.

"Are you alright?" Rhombulus huffed, a little out-of-breath from the adrenaline.

"Thanks, Rhombulus. I feel I was about to make a grave error…" Moon smiled. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and tried to return her reassuring smile without a mouth. They made their way back down the staircase and Rhombulus waved goodbye as she cut herself a new portal.

Moon was back in her room with a sorrowed sigh. She was back to square one, hopelessly unsure what to do…

Well, the first thing she knew she had to do, was wash away this terrible attempt. She set the book down on its usual stand and rushed to the bathroom to wash her blackened hand. However, despite how hard she tried scrubbing it, the marks wouldn't come off. Frustrated, Moon went to the spellbook for a simple stain remover spell. Surely, great-great-great grandma, Helga the Clean, would have something. But, when she opened the book with her blackened hand, the book instantly turned to a chapter wrapped in glowing chains. Eclipsa's chapter. Moon's curiosity suddenly hit upon looking into the dead eyes of the skull lock. If it led her hear, how far would it take her? She touched the lock with her blackened hand, and it clicked. The glowing chain fell away and gave her permission to turn the first page. However, Moon didn't have any interest in reading the whole chapter.

 _I just need to know the spell that can defeat Toffee…_

The book abided, latching onto her vengeful thoughts. It turned to the last page of the chapter and Moon read the spell upon it. 'The Darkest Spell', as it was appropriately titled, was short, but clear. She sat conflicted for the longest time. There it was before her and she no longer had to worry about freeing a bigger evil to access it. If this was the only way to kill Toffee, it was plain she had no choice but to do it.

"I call—"

" _Moon, stop!"_

Glossaryck had burst in all of a sudden, growing one of his legs just to kick down the door. Odds are he knew everything, like he generally tended to, and was deciding far too late that he should step in and do something about it. She examined his desperateness for a moment, but then turned back to the spellbook.

"You can't order me around, Glossaryck. I'm the queen." Moon mumbled.

"Apologies, your majesty. But, please trust me. This isn't the answer to beat Toffee." Glossaryck reasoned.

"This is the only way I shall have enough power."

"Yes, but it'll crush your heart. You may never be able to properly feel again."

"Has he not already crushed my heart? I don't see what else I have to lose!" she thundered. Moon cleared her voice, in preparation to read the darkest spell. No one would stop her from destroying her greatest foe.

 _I call the darkness unto me_

 _from deepest depths of Earth and sea_

 _to blackest night I pledge my soul_ a _nd crush my heart_

 _to summon forth a deathly power_

 _to see my hated foe devoured!_

 **A/N: Hey, everyone! Thanks for all your reviews and support of this fic. I've been having it rough lately, but I am determined to finish. The next chapter will be the last and it'll hopefully be released on July 15** **th** **(I'm seriously praying that I make the deadline). I really wanted to get my view of what happened before we actually get the real flashbacks (to minimize those nitpickers who are going to complain that I don't spend enough time on the wiki when I'm writing and am horribly wrong) See you lovelies again on the 15** **th** **!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Have You Learned Nothing?

" _Lucifer!"_

The prince of the Underworld was lounging about. He was being rather lazy and nonchalant, for someone whose kingdom was smack dab in the middle of a heated war. It had been four months since Queen Moon had called warfare upon the Monster race and began gathering allies. Although, it had always been part of the plan to ally with Mewni, Lucifer had an unusual change of heart. Instead of having his kingdom join the fray, he'd chosen to do the what he deemed to be the most sensible thing. Stay completely out of it. Why should he sacrifice his people for something Toffee did? He'd been warning people, including Moon, about him for years. No one listened and now they could suffer the consequences.

Besides, it was not like Moon didn't have anyone on her side. She had everyone else aiding her in this vendetta. River and Ponyhead had gone to fight in the Mewman army under their new captain of the guard, Mina Loveberry. Heckapoo and Rhombulus continued to support her politically through the Magic High Commission. It seemed like all her friends were doing something to help her and she was doing fine without him.

"I moved back home, so I could be closer to Moon and the war, not to be your maid." Heckapoo screeched, tossing a filthy shirt he must've left somewhere in her path.

"Sorry, sorry." Lucifer insisted, trying to patch things over hastily, so he would not feel her wrath. But, he actually was glad that Heckapoo had brought Moon up. Even though he didn't agree with this war, Lucifer wanted to see her again. He would've liked to hope she still considered him a friend, at least. "Speaking of the princess, can I go see her later? She's been such a recluse since her parents died."

"Not today."

"Even I know that 'not today', always means 'not ever'. Why can't I see her?"

"Can you promise to keep quiet for once?" Heckapoo inquired, in a hushed whisper, even though no one else was around. She didn't want to tell him. But, she knew that if she did not tell her brother 'why' he couldn't see Moon, he'd never shut up about it. She might've also wanted someone else to notice the princess's abnormal behavior. She needed reassure herself that it was not all in her head. "No one else has seemed to notice it yet. There's something wrong with her."

"Isn't that understandable? I mean, with her parents and Toffee—"

"This is different…" she countered, vaguely. Heckapoo stumbled to find the right words, but struggled to explain how odd Moon was acting. She would need to show him, if she wanted him to understand. "Come on. I'll let you see her."

In a second, they were outside the door to Moon's room. The crack underneath the door was dark and there was no sound coming from within. But, regardless, Heckapoo took a deep bracing breath and knocked.

"Moon? Are you there?" she asked, curiously. She didn't receive a vocal reply, but heard the little sparkles of a magic spell. Heckapoo cautiously opened the door and peaked through the crack. Moon sat at her desk with the spellbook. She was clutching tight to her black heart rod and mumbling to herself. She broke out of her chanting, upon noticing Heckapoo standing in her doorway. "I brought Lucifer to see you."

"What do you want?" Moon hissed, as Lucifer made his way into the room.

"I wanted to see you."

"If you wanted to see me so badly, you could've joined the cause like River or Ponyhead." Moon reasoned, in a cold bitterness. "You said you didn't want any part in this war, so I have no reason to see you."

"Moon, I—"

Lucifer was cut off by a jet of black light cast by Moon. He was blasted back through the door and hit the opposing wall in the hallway with a loud thud. Heckapoo rushed to his side, while Moon was unmoved by her own cruel actions.

"Way too far, your majesty!"

"We have a meeting with Mina and the rest of the commission." Moon announced, unremorsefully. She shut the door to her room and gestured for Heckapoo to leave her injured brother in the hallway. "Come along, Heckapoo."

Heckapoo diligently got up to follow behind her. But, not without giving Lucifer an assuring look. It was a gaze that could only be understood between siblings. He knew that she was telling him to keep investigating, to look for the cause while Moon was distracted. Lucifer gave her a quick wink before she departed, conveying her message had been received. He would play dead for a few more minutes.

"It looks like we're all present now. Shall we begin?" Moon exclaimed, upon entering the strategy room. It was dimly-lit room with a table that was way too long for the amount of people seated. Rhombulus, the Chancellor, and the little orb of Omnitraxus Prime were all present. However, in addition, there was a girl and a demure-looking monster. He was tied up and clearly being held there against his will. While, the girl, Mina Loveberry was hunched over in her chair. She was twirling one of her purple pigtails with impatience. She was not used to staying in one place for very long and didn't like being removed from battle.

"Is Sir Glossaryck still sick?" Heckapoo asked, noticing his absence in the room.

"Yes. I'm afraid the war is stretching him too thin. He's had to speed up my magic training to prepare me for battle." Moon claimed. She took her seat at the head of the table and Heckapoo took hers next to Rhombulus. "Now, has Toffee sent a reply to my proposal yet?"

"We'll see from this spy I caught at our gates." Mina reckoned, pulling the chains that tied him.

"I'm not a spy. I am but a humble messenger. I have the reply right here, honestly!" he replied, shakily, holding up a scroll. Regardless, Mina pistol whipped him with one of her pigtails.

"Give it here!" Moon snapped, tearing the scroll from his hand. "Do what you will with him Mina. I couldn't care less."

"Death by pinecone it is!"

"No! Please, your highness! _Have mercy_!"

" _Mercy_?" Moon repeated. "I don't remember your leader showing the king and queen any mercy. So, why on Mewni do you think I would give any to a worthless little twig like you?"

"Read the message! He's proposing a treaty. He doesn't want to keep fighting." the monster reasoned, praying it would be the thing that saved his life. Moon unraveled the scroll and began to read,

" _My dearest, Moon,_

 _You've fought rather amicably. I commend your efforts; however, I do not wish for there to be war between us any longer. If we do not agree to some kind of close, I fear the battles will never end. Enclosed is a treaty of peace that you should find more than fair._

 _I eagerly await your response,_

 _Toffee"_

"Pathetic." Moon sneered, tossing the message aside once she was done.

"Moon!" Heckapoo thundered. A treaty was the only positive outcome of the war they could have ever hoped for. It was the perfect opportunity to save both sides anymore casualties. She couldn't be serious on just throwing it away. "We need to sign the peace treaty!"

"I need my vengeance!" Moon bellowed back, furiously.

"Yelling feels really good right now!"

 _My sister was right…_

Everyone had been too busy yelling to notice an intruder listening through a crack in the door. Lucifer had followed Heckapoo and Moon, to see more of this new horrid new attitude. It may have just been confirming what he already knew. But, she did drop a new bit of information he found concerning. Lucifer ran back to Moon's room and went for the large leather-bound spellbook sitting on her desk.

"Glossaryck? Are you in there?" he inquired to the book. Lucifer opened it and turned a few pages, before a voice whispered back to him,

"In the dungeons."

"What was that?" Lucifer turned to find a maid standing behind him. He knew that she was Moon's maid, but had never bothered to ask for her name. She seemed a little jumpier and more frightened, then he remembered. Although, he suspected that was the effect of Moon's new persona.

"Her majesty sent Sir Glossaryck to the dungeon many months ago." she reiterated, louder and in a clearer tone for him.

"When exactly?" he questioned.

"Not long after her parents died. Maybe a week."

"Take me to him."

They made their way down to the dungeons. All the jail cells were empty, considering the tyrant Moon wasn't exactly taking prisoners in this war. However, Glossaryck was indeed, drifting in one. He didn't look perturbed at all, despite being kept there for four months. Lucifer suspected he was not actually trapped. He was staying there to humor Moon and take a vacation from this mess.

"Prince Lucifer, why isn't this a surprise? What business could you have down here?" Glossaryck smiled. He'd somehow noticed Lucifer and Sandra's arrival without opening his eyes.

"I came to ask you what's wrong with Moon." Lucifer stated. "You know why she's acting like this, don't you? That's why you're down here."

"Huh, you're not as dumb as you come off…Very well. I suppose, I'll tell you." Glossaryck added. "Moon has been infected by dark magic."

"Moon wouldn't mess with dark magic. She isn't like that." Lucifer argued.

"A mixture grief and contact with a certain relative might've pushed her into making the wrong decisions." Glossaryck hinted. He sighed, sorrowed and ashamed. Who exactly was he trying to fool with this taunt act. He knew who to blame for Moon's plunge into darkness. "It was my fault. I should've been doing my job better."

"Isn't there anything we can do to get her back to normal?" Lucifer asked.

"I'm simmering on a possible solution, but I'm not sure it'll work. I don't know how much the spell is actually influencing her choices anymore." Glossaryck premised. "She cast it with the intention to kill Toffee and I fear the spell won't release her, until she's achieved that."

"But, we've got to do something."

"If you're willing to help, I suppose we could give it the old college try…"

Moon did not get out of the meeting until much later and when she did she went straight for her room. That was all she had to her life now. The dreary, boring cycle would not cease until she defeated Toffee. She opened the door to her room, expecting to see it just how she left it. However, she found a cloaked figure was centered in the room with her spellbook. The figure turned revealing a grey, long-snouted face and familiar amber eyes.

"Toffee! How'd you break in here?" Moon gasped, raising her wand at once. He didn't say anything, but ran past her with the book. She chased after him, shooting spiteful beams of dark magic at him. "Get back here and face me, you coward!"

He ran deeper into the castle with Moon hot on his heels. Moon kept shooting at him, but her wand didn't seem to be delivering the great magic the dark spell had promised her. The blasts were nothing more than her usual. Toffee was headed towards a part of the castle even Moon had never been to before. He ran out an exit that led into the forest. He lit the way with a bright fireball and was off into the darkness. Moon wouldn't be shaken so easily, though. When she caught up to Toffee he was at the entrance of some old abandoned ruins. He was seemingly waiting for her to follow, but she took no notice. Moon skipped her way along the rock path and over the vast glossy lake between them. However, as she entered the ruins, Toffee had vanished from the vast room. Moon scanned the grand room, half looking for Toffee, but mostly struck by where he had led her.

The ruins were rather kempt for something supposed to be forgotten and abandoned. The bricks were still mossy and the bushes overgrowing, but the room was spectacular. The big domed ceiling was made of purple and blue stained glass. It was light enough in color for her to see the night sky sparkling above her. A familiar face was drooling a large waterfall into a small lake and a great spiraling tower had sprouted from the waters. Moon spotted her book at the top of the tower, but Toffee had still vanished without a trace. Slowly and cautiously, she crossed the lake and climbed spiral staircase for her book.

" _Glossaryck, now!"_

The voice had not been Toffee's; but, it'd come out of his mouth as he popped of the nearby bushes. Glossaryck came zooming out of his own stone mouth and trapped her in a hot pink bubble. Moon looked befuddled as to what was happening. But, as 'Toffee' was transfigured back into his true form, as Prince of the Underworld, she understood that it had all been a trap.

"Lucifer! Oh, I see. All my friends are betraying me now. Your sister is in those bushes, ready to stab me with a pair of scissors, isn't she?" Moon snapped, bitterly, pointing to a stretch of bushes where Heckapoo had to be hiding.

"We're not trying to betray you. We're trying to help remove the pain and the darkness." Lucifer yelled. "What about your friends, Moon? Do we mean that little to you? What about Toffee—?"

"He is not my friend!" Moon shrieked, at once.

"He was! I don't know what happened to him, but it looks exactly like what happened to you. You may rationalize it differently, but you both went dark!" Lucifer debated. "Did you ever even bother to find out what might've turned him crazy? You know all of this isn't like him, just like how you know it's not like you."

The storm of anger in her blue eyes seemed to die down a little. Moon might've actually known who drove Toffee to do what he did.

"Could Eclipsa have talked to Toffee too, Glossaryck?" Moon asked him, at least five tones softer than the one she'd been using before.

"I don't know for sure, but I've had my suspicions that she paid him a few visits after his banishment." Glossaryck admitted. "Ruining your lives was probably all part of her plans to escape. I doubt she ever intended on helping either of you."

"See? This might not be his fault." Lucifer added. It was an unnecessary comment though. She had already been knocked back to normal upon the sudden revelation.

"What have I done?" Moon queried to herself, looking down at her blackened wand in horror. How could she have done this? She had gone straight for anger. She even blackened her heart before she bothered to find out what had come over Toffee. She pulled back her high gloves and found her arms were still a dark black. Just because she'd realized the errors of her way didn't mean the power was going to let her go. "Do what you must…"

Glossaryck bowed, obliging her request, and began to chant in ancient Mewman. A pink beam connected them together. The beam went from the diamond in his forehead, to the diamonds on the spellbook, to her own diamond emblazoned cheeks. The orb was filled with nothing but bright light for a solid minute, before the connection was broken. Glossaryck set Moon back down at the edge of the lake with her spellbook.

"Am I fixed?" Moon inquired, drowsily. She looked at her wand. It was now restored back to her blue crystal heart. She took off her gloves and the marks on her arms were gone as well.

"Sort of." Glossaryck noted, floating down to her side. He felt a little less guilty about his mistakes as her teacher, upon seeing her back to her old self. "I'm glad you're okay, Moon."

"Thanks, Glossaryck." she smiled. But, her carefree easy expression changed. A certain hopeful thought had crossed her mind. "Do you think Toffee can come back too?"

"I'm afraid, he's too far gone. I could barely pull you out and you haven't killed anyone. Murder taints the soul in ways that are impossible to come back from." Glossaryck explained, remorsefully. As much as he wanted to tell her there was a way to return Toffee from darkness, he could not lie bring himself to lie to her. "If the original Toffee is still in there, you're going to have to really dip down to find him."

"Oh, I see…" Moon sighed. She didn't know what she expected to hear. Nothing had changed. Moon put her wand back into her pocket and grabbed the spellbook off the ground. They had begun to make their way to join Lucifer at the exit, however, after Moon took the wand out of her hand, she noticed a black spade on her palm. "The marks are gone everywhere, except my hand. Why is that?"

"Hence what I meant by 'sort of'," Glossaryck added. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely get rid of the spell, only able to contain the dark power. If you don't expel it at Toffee, I'm afraid it will not go away."

"I must speak to him at once." Moon stated. Glossaryck nodded and they quickened their haste to get back to the castle. Although, when they arrived, they realized it was too late to get a message to Toffee. So, Moon allowed herself a little break to enjoy life. She spent the rest of the night reconnecting with Lucifer and the rest of her friends. Moon surrounded herself with people who really cared about her. It was something she ought to have done from the beginning to ease her pain. In those few faithful hours, she didn't think a lick about Toffee or the war. It was blissful.

However, as the cold early morning swept over the passed-out party, it begun a new day of inevitable hardship. Moon threw aside all decorum and queenly grooming in a haste to get to the strategy room. She had to get a message sent out to Toffee, warning him of Eclipsa's dangerous influence. She needed to tell him, if he didn't already know, and tell him that she might've even forgiven him. With Rhombulus and Heckapoo still crashed out on the floor of her room, Mina, the Chancellor, and Omnitraxus Prime were the only ones' present in the strategy room.

"Queen Moon! Toffee has received your refusal of the peace treaty. He has agreed to your original idea of a one-on-one battle instead." Mina announced, upon Moon's entry to the room. The dark Moon would've loved that he'd agreed to her showdown, but the original Moon went blank at the news. She was too late.

"When?"

"Tomorrow at dawn."

"Thank you, Mina. You may all depart now. I suppose, there is nothing more to discuss." Moon mumbled, trying to sound impassive. As the room cleared, she curled up in one of the tall chairs, trying to wrap her head around what was happening. She'd kept it in the back of her mind since the moment he killed her parents, but her Toffee was gone. He would not come back from this darkness and it would still be her job to kill him, whether or not she had it in her. At least while she was still under the dark spell herself, she had felt no remorse in her vendetta against him. It would've been so much easier. Although, she still had the deadly power to defeat him, she'd lost all her ambition and drive to get it done.

The next day broke much faster than twenty-four hours were supposed to go by. Moon didn't know what she was feeling that following morning, as she got on her armor for battle. Her body seemed to be moving automatically, while her mind was somewhere far away. Glossaryck and Lil' Chauncey came to retrieve after she finished putting on her boots.

"I'm sorry, Moon. The time has come…"

There were certainly a lot of Mewmans and Monsters at the sight of the duel. Moon had her army behind her, while Toffee had his. Neither one's side could expect the other to surrender because one of the leaders had fallen. The monsters didn't consider the little princess riding her pig-goat into battle, as much of a threat. They snickered as she approached. One of them even thought it'd be hilarious if they shot arrows at her. They all hit Lil' Chauncey. He stumbled and Moon fell into the dry dirt.

"Now, now, boys. That's not proper duel etiquette. _She's mine_."

Moon looked up to see Toffee. His expression was unremorseful for the injury of her and Lil' Chauncey, even though he'd called off his men. He was clad in a skin-tight, black outfit with high boots. He was vastly confident in his lack of armor. The only parts of his body that were protected were his knees and his shoulders. His kneepads were spiked in typical roguish attire, however, rested on his broad shoulders were two real Mewman skulls. Not just any two Mewmans, but Moon's parents. He'd painted the Butterfly emblems on their cheeks, so she would know exactly who they were. Her mother's purple spades sat cozily on his left shoulder, while her father sat on his right. Her father didn't have cheek markings and, even if he did, neither him or her mother's skulls would have them on their bones. But, Toffee painted Moon's diamonds on his cheeks anyway. It didn't matter. The whole gesture was merely meant to toy with her.

"My princess, battle suits you. You look ravishing." Toffee grinned, as he devilishly eyed Moon's battle attire.

"I can't say the same. You look hideous." Moon replied, bluntly. She tried to keep the idea of a positive resolution in her mind. Maybe if Moon talked to him, she might be able to pull him out of the dark. However, that seemed highly unlikely, considering she couldn't even look at him properly.

"What? Do you think I should've put your mother's skull on my right shoulder instead?" he smirked, cockily, pointing at the skull on his left. Moon's rage clouded her judgement on calling off the battle and she charged at him. The darkness took reins and she blasted the finger that had been pointing at the skull clean off. It would've not been such a damaging blow had it not been for her dangerous conviction. Toffee was, for the first time in his life, completely frazzled and panicked.

"You blew off my finger!" Toffee screeched, instantly knowing something was wrong. He stared at it desperately, willing for his body to regenerate it like it normally would. However, the magic she used was too powerful. He would never have that finger again because of her. "It's not growing back…"

"The next one's coming at your head, you scoundrel!" she roared, viciously. One of his men tossed him a large crescent shaped sickle to use as his weapon. Toffee caught it, while also managing to dodge her next attack. She transformed her wand into a glittering sword, for a better defense of the oncoming swings. He lunged at her with a growing rage, knowing she would falter soon. Moon was taught in magic, not swordsmanship. Toffee, as a natural soldier, was promptly given the upper hand over her. He clashed viciously at Moon, until she was forced to drop her sword under his superior strength. Toffee sliced open her right hand, directly on the black spade. Moon's hand started bleeding black instead of red and, while she was distracted by the horror, Toffee retrieved her wand.

"Have you learned nothing?" Toffee sneered, with a cruel laugh, twirling Moon's wand lazily in his free hand. For some reason, it was not transforming at his touch. However, there was no doubt he could still use it, if he wanted to. He didn't need the wand, though. Moon was now completely helpless without it. Glossaryck could teach her hundreds of spells trying to prepare her for this. But, being able to teach her wandless magic in a few months was an impossible task. "I'm surprised at you, princess. You've been rather rude to me. I thought I taught you better..."

Moon's confidence weakened with every harsh chuckle of rash victory. He was going to stop gloating any minute and kill her. She needed a miracle. She needed to dip down and strike him, if she wanted to survive. Even if it was only this one time. Moon refused to give up, until her time was completely up. She summoned all the strength and inner magic, everything she had left. Moon's eyes glazed over with her own immense power and she was lifted from the ground in a swirling chaotic vortex.

In a great flash, the power was released and the world was quiet. Moon and Toffee were alone together on the battlefield. The large armies behind them had vanished in a second and it was just the two of them facing one another. Moon had her wand back and all her injuries had vanished. She didn't waste the opportunity, lingering on curiosity. Moon needed to attack, while he was distracted and defenseless. She raised her wand, but Toffee's confident look was drained, as he stared at her poised for attack. It was not because the tables had turned. The new Toffee wouldn't have been scared. He would've been smug and high, until the very end. However, in this moment, he was looking at Moon endearingly, as if he hadn't seen her in years. There was something differently familiar about him.

"Moon! Wait, it's me!" he shouted, desperately. She surprisingly stopped her attack, for something that could've been a trick.

"Toffee…" Moon breathed, in astonishment. It was the inflection in which he had called her name that struck her so deeply. It was hard to forget. The new Toffee didn't call her Moon and, even if he did, she knew it would not be the same. She lowered her wand and finally looked around them. Was she dead? Surely, if her Toffee was here, the dark one must have killed her. "Where are we?"

"Don't worry, my dear. You're not dead." Toffee smiled, catching onto her worried expression. "I believe you've somehow managed to dip down into my subconscious."

"So, it's really you?"

"Yes…" Toffee replied. There was a moment of awkward silence between them. There was so much they needed to discuss, but not nearly enough time. "I can understand if you don't want to talk. I was foolishly tricked by Eclipsa. She lent me the power to cast the 'Darkest Spell' and I used it to kill your parents. There is nothing I could ever say, or do, that could atone for what I did."

"It wasn't you…" Moon mumbled. It had been exactly what she'd been waiting to hear. He did not deny his actions, but the remorse in his voice was genuine.

"It still was me." Toffee insisted. "Listen, Moon, you can't hesitate to kill me when you go back. You have to do it quickly."

"No, I won't! Glossaryck fixed me and he can fix you too—"

"You're not fixed. Neither of us can be, not until the other is dead." Toffee proclaimed. He grasped her hands and turned over the one with the blackened spade. It was an obvious sign of her damage, but she was young. She still had a chance to make it right. "This was never meant to work between us, Moon."

"It was fun while it lasted though, right?" she laughed, with a feeble crack in her voice. Moon had never wanted to say goodbye to him and now she was being forced to, for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Yeah…" he mumbled. A small half smile appeared as he gazed down at her and thought of all the good times they shared. He was sure he would never be that happy. "I love you, Moon. No matter what happens, always remember that."

"I love you too." she smiled. Moon embraced him.

"Now, go kick this guy's butt." Toffee ordered. He released Moon and gave her a little push onwards. It was time to go now. "Give him hell."

"I'm looking forward to it…"

She closed her eyes and when she opened them the crowd returned, murmuring in confusion. Toffee was impatiently tapping his foot. He seemed to be completely unaware he'd only come back a few seconds earlier.

"I'd prefer you not take power naps while we're dueling, princess." he sighed, sounding exasperated.

"Apologies. We should do this properly." Moon added. She curtseyed to him suitably and he considered her.

"Indeed." Toffee agreed, returning the gesture with a curt bow. He gave her back her wand and they turned their backs to each other. Anticipation was high as they took their ten paces. To the crowd of Mewmans, Moon looked powerful and undaunted. She was a true queen. However, her mind was racing rapidly with every step she took.

 _One. This is it._

 _Two. Don't look back._

 _Three. What's that sound?_

 _Four. It was nothing. You're being paranoid._

 _Five. There it is again!_

 _Six. Is he going to turn early?_

 _Seven. Maybe that's what I should do._

 _Eight. I don't want to die._

 _Nine. Why did I agree to this?_

 _Ten. Toffee's counting on me._

 _I can't let him down…_

 _SHOOT!_

When Moon turned, all her adrenaline faded and the magic blazed. Her bright blue beam enveloped his venomous green one without trouble. The immortal beast was blasted away into ashes.

It was finally over. The Mewmans roared with applause and victory, while the Monsters fled in fear and cowardliness. It was soon a celebration instead of a battlefield. War was over and they had won, yet again. There was, however, one person who did not seem to be as thrilled. She stared at a faded scar on her hand, wondering. Queen Moon's expression was blank and would remained that way for a very long time.

That shot determined her legacy. They called her "Moon the Undaunted" and undaunted she remained. Until one day, many years later, when Toffee called her name.

 _Hello, Moon…_

 **A/N: Omigod, I DID IT! It's all over folks! It was all just a pipe dream finishing it at all, let alone by the season 3 premiere date, but I did it!**

 **Thank you everyone once again for supporting this fic and the MoonToffee ship. I've been through a lot with this story. Everything from a blatant plagiarism attempt, to all those stupid trolls. I have no regrets, no matter what happens in S3 (I've already seen the clip of Moon and Toffee meeting. Not how I imagined it, obviously, but I still thought it was adorable).**

 **Anyway, I've persevered through all these hardships and am ready to take my break and enjoy the premiere. I hope you all enjoy it too!**


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